Welcome to My World
by Anonymoux-Sonic
Summary: After saving Mobius one last time Sonic the Hedgehog is announced dead. Well, that's what he's been told. Waking up in a strange, dark world where other Chaos Mobians like himself have died, he finds there may be a way to get his life back, but for a great trial. What makes it worse, is he needs his friends to help somehow, and the demonic, time-god hunting him down. Mephonic.
1. Prologue

**Welcome to My World**

 _Prologue~_

He groaned and rolled over to his side, grabbing tightly at his head. His legs pulled up to his chest, curling him into a ball. His eyes were squeezed shut tightly so, yet he couldn't stop the horrendous flashbacks from splitting across his vision.

 _Tails was crying, Knuckles was screaming. Eggman was laughing hysterically. His vision was blurry, but he knew he was in pain. Terrible, excruciating pain. He could hear a female's voice yelling at someone in the background...Amy, and a pounding that was most likely her hammer. Another shock and wave of blinding white pain tore through his body, and he couldn't stop the scream from breaking his lips._

He groans again, rubbing his eyes, before pulling at his ears rather harshly. "Mmmake it stop..."

 _An explosion could be heard in the distance, and someone mentioned the name 'Omega'. Tails was sobbing now, pleading, begging. Eggman just laughed harder. He found himself not able to breathe then, choking on something, inhaling it...water...and another wave of pain broke his body, making him only take in more of the fearsome liquid. He tried his eyes, but found it still impossible to see._

He whines, his quills rising just slightly in defense, before letting out a hoarse scream. "Stop it, _stop it!"_

 _Then he began to feel...warm. A strange, but familiar energy could be felt rising inside of him. It was like a warm flame, enveloping his body and bringing a comfortable embrace to him. He reached out for it, knowing it was his only hope. Suddenly, Eggman was no longer laughing but screaming the words, 'No! No! No! No!' and he was no longer in pain, no longer choking on water, but powerful, unstoppable, and ready to fight. Ready to end this._

He lay there, shivering; each breath that left his body came with a soft, barely audible whimper.

 _His dark form was only something he used when he absolutely had no other choice. This was that moment. What bothered him yet was the fact that he still could not see. Of course...he still didn't have full control of this form yet. He trusted his friends would get to safety...because he was going to put a finish on everything that Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik ever was and wished to be. "I'm sorry, Kintobor..."_

He went silent and frozen, as realization dawned on him.

 _The last thing he felt was an explosion, and he couldn't help but grin as he lost his form. Mobius was safe, Eggman was...hopefully gone, and that's all that mattered to him. He remembered Kintobor's wish: For all life to live happily, with no evil in the world. Did he do it? Even if he was unable to save him, was Kintobor happy with him? Everything was fading around him, and he could hear distance screams and calls for his name. Would Tails understand?_

He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't pounding.

 _He heard someone scramble down to their knees beside him, and someone lift him up in their arms. "I got you, Sonic! You're gonna be okay!" Tails was sobbing... He wished he could hug him... "Wake up, Sonic! Please, wake...up..."_

He slowly pulls his hands from his eyes, blinking them slowly open. Where was he? "Shh...easy now, my boy..." He tries to roll over towards the source of the calm voice, but his body was too heavy...too tired... "Don't get up yet..."

 _Everything faded to black as Tails's cries got quieter, and all feeling was gone from his body. It was just silent, dark, empty... "Dear Gods, Sonic..." he heard a familiar feminine voice, but couldn't see anything still. She was almost...chiding him. "You are very lucky that Chaos has chosen you. Good luck."_

His vision slowly started to come back to him, and he could only stare at the beige-colored walls in front of him. He felt something soft and cushiony beneath him, and upon placing his hand slowly on the surface, he discovered he was on a bed. Movement in the corner of his eye brought his attention to the red echidna making his way to the side of the bed. He sat there, on the edge, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are you with me, Sonic?"

The cobalt blue hedgehog blinks his eyes, once, twice, before closing them completely, and then rubbing them open with shaky hands. "Wh..." he starts, but his tongue seems to twist up on itself. He tries to push himself upwards, but pain shoots through him and he lets out a quiet cry.

"Hold on, Sonic..." the echidna tries, reaching down to get a good hold on the hedgehog, rolling him slightly over to his back, and then carefully helping him into a slouch, but sitting position. He grabs ahold of the hedgehog's fawn muzzle, and makes the younger one look at him, meeting his eyes. "Slow, boy. Take it easy..."

Sonic blinks again, now fully taking in the appearance of the echidna holding him. He looked like Knuckles but...older. His fur was a deep ruby red, but he had a darker, crimson stripe that would almost compare to Shadow's on top of his head. His front two dreadlocks had the same stripe wrapped around them mid-way. His eyebrows were large, bushy, and grey, as was the small goatee on his chin. His eyes were a deep sky-blue, reminding him of Tails, and he wore a brown tunic with a green emerald design on his belt. Sonic tries his words again, squinting as his vision starts to fade in and out again. "W-Who...?"

The echidna gives him a soft, sad smile. "My name is Locke, my boy, and I am Knuckles's father."

Sonic's eyes widened at that statement, and he tries to sit up further on his own. Another wave of pain stopped him from getting anywhere, however, and Locke frowns. "Easy, Sonic. I know you're confused beyond belief, but you need to give your body some time."

The hedgehog groans in protest, yet begins to take heed to Locke's advise. He lays there for a moment, and then he realizes once again, that he is not breathing. His eyes open almost immediately, and he lifts a hand to his chest. "W-What?!"

Locke nods understandably. "I know, I know... It'll take you some time to get used to it, just take it easy."

Sonic seemed fearful now. "Wh-what's-s w-wrong w-with m-me?"

Again, that sad look crossed over Locke's eyes. "Sonic my boy, listen very carefully to me: You took more damage than your body was able to handle... You are no longer on Mobius."

Sonic blinked again, his eyes wide, shaking his head and looking at the echidna pleadingly. "W-wha-Where am I-I?"

Locke bites his lip, his hand still holding the side of the hedgehog's muzzle for support. "Sonic...in a way...you... Well... You weren't able to survive the battle. You...died...sort of."

Sonic froze and just stared at the echidna, his pupils shrinking slightly in shock. "I...I...I'm..."

Locke takes the hand that was holding the hedgehog's muzzle, and runs it through his blue quills. "Shh...easy. There's still a chance for you to get back, but you're far from ready to start yet." He didn't like the shocked state the teen was in, but it was to be expected. At these words, Sonic looked directly at him, and the elder echidna could tell he was more confused than ever. With a heavy, breathless sigh, the former guardian continues. "Sonic, you are very special when it comes to Chaos energy; I would assume you know that. When you, 'died', your body fell into a frozen state, yet your 'soul' or 'spirit', which is your Chaos energy, was brought here." He stops and studies the hedgehog, who seemed a bit calmer, but was still trembling like crazy. At least he was listening.

Locke continues. "Your body and Chaos are separated, but you could get them back together and go home. However, your Chaos energy is still very weak and fragile right now, and so at the moment you are too weak to be able to do much of anything. It could take a week, a month...for you to recover, but you have plenty of time to do so..."

Sonic opens his mouth to speak, but then closes it immediately afterwards He opens it again, then repeats the process. Locke sighs again, but again without any breath to do so. "Soak it in... This is never easy for anyone to take in when they first arrive here. Just know right now that, you're going to be okay." He stops and grabs his muzzle again. "Are you with me, my boy?"

Sonic just stares, before slowly nodding his head. He was...dead...but at the same time he wasn't? "S-So..." he starts shakily. "I-I...I m-mean my body's...b-but I-I'm still...?"

Locke nods. "Yes. Your body is in a state of deep rest back on Mobius, but you yourself, your spirit, your Chaos energy, is here in this world...realm...whatever you wish to call it. Are you okay?"

Sonic swallows, before slowly nodding once again. "A-And I-I c-can go b-back?"

Locke gives that soft smile to him once again, carefully laying the hedgehog back down on the bed. "Yes, but not right now. I need you to take some time to rest for me, and then I will better explain things to you. Just trust me when I say, you are going to be okay."

He grabs the blankets that had been kicked away, and pulls them up over the shaking hedgehog, who at least seemed a bit more calm with some sort of an understanding. Sonic nods, closing his eyes tiredly. He wanted to ask so much more...but he felt like he didn't even have the strength to keep his eyes open. Locke sat with him at the edge of the bed, stroking the sapphire quills to ease the young one to sleep. Once Sonic was, the echidna rubs a hand over his own head and sighs for what felt the hundredth time that day. The sound of footsteps brought his eyes up to the doorway of the small room, and he shares a sad look with the female echidna now standing there. She looked scared, and her voice trembled as she spoke.

"H-His energy signature was strong enough for nearly every being here to feel it." She pauses at Locke's now horror-struck face, and she walks over to him with fearful eyes. "Locke...what if Mephiles felt it?"

The former guardian scowls deeply, looking at the blue hedgehog that slept without a movement, without a sound. "Then we protect him. If Mephiles gets ahold of him, then he would use him to break free of this hellish place."

The female echidna nods and looks to the hedgehog as well. "Does...does Tikal know about this?"

Locke frowns and crosses his arms. "I wouldn't doubt it. I'd hate to see how angry and upset Chaos is right now...that his other half is now stuck here... Tikal probably has her hands full, as does Knuckles."

The female nods sadly, crouching by the side of the bed where Sonic lay. "Poor boy...he's just a kid for Solaris's sake."

Locke sighs. "They all are, but this was unfortunately the hand we were all dealt. I'm just glad Aleena isn't here with us right now...and still out there somewhere alive and well."

"At least the former," the other agrees, running her hand through Sonic's quills. There was a short moment of silence, the both of them thinking quietly to themselves.

"You know..." Locke says softly after this moment. She looks up at him expectedly, raising a brow in question. "When a Chaos Being comes here, aren't they usually given a timer?"

Her eyes widen. "Does...does Sonic not have one?"

A slow, soft smile begins to curve the elder's lips. "He does not."

A hopeful sparkle grows in her eyes. "So...that means..."

Locke grins. "Because he is a part of Chaos himself, he pretty much has all the time in the universe to get back to Mobius. All he needs to worry about, is Mephiles."

The female stands up to her feet with a bright smile. "That is good! That is very good! Well, not good that he has still to deal with Mephiles, but good that he isn't timed."

The elder chuckles. "Yes, which should make it so much easier for him to return home. His Chaos energy will have way more time to regenerate, and he can always take a step back from this if he needs to." He pauses and smiles broadly. "Though, considering who we're talking about, he'll most likely want to do this as quickly as possible..."

She frowns thoughtfully. "Do you still have that dial?"

"Ah!" Locke cheers, standing up to his feet. "Wait here and watch him, I will go and get it. He'll need that for sure."

She laughs lightly and sits on the bed beside the hedgehog, waving him away. Locke smiles as he steps out of the room, closing the door behind him. He stands there and closes his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. "Please, Solaris guide us... Help us get Sonic back, and back safely." He shakes his head and looks down. "Please don't let Mephiles get him..."

* * *

The black and grey-ish-blue hedgehog smirks to himself, tapping his claw-like fingers on the arm of a makeshift throne. "Oh, Locke, you always have been a fool..."


	2. One

_One~_

"I...I just think...you know...it would be best...just in case he..."

Tails had never seen Knuckles cry before.

The echidna was trying his damnest not to, but even as he spoke he couldn't stop the tears from falling from his eyes. It wasn't like Tails couldn't stop either...

"I mean," Knuckles swallows, "I can still feel Chaos energy in him..."

They stood now in Tails's lab, staring at the cryogenic tube their long life friend currently laid in. Tails nodded. "O-Okay... I-I mean...the readings are saying there's still energy in him too, so maybe..."

There was an awkward silence that followed, before Tails couldn't take it anymore. He turns and wraps his arms around the echidna, burying his face in the other's chest, sobbing. Knuckles slowly lifts his arms, hugging the small fox close to him, letting the tears run down. He was quiet, letting the younger one cling to him for support.

There was no pulse, no heartbeat...so why did Sonic still have an energy signature? He knew Sonic was remarkable when it came to Chaos, that was no secret. Would...would his energy heal him? Could it bring him back to life?

"What if we got the emeralds..." Knuckles murmurs, and Tails sniffs and looks up at him. "He still has energy in him, so...what if the emeralds could bring him back to life?"

Tails's eyes lit up. "We have to try!" he exclaims, pulling away from the echidna and running over to his desk. He opens his laptop and begins typing frantically on it, his heart pounding at the possibility that they could save Sonic.

The echidna nods at that, wiping his eyes. "I...I'll contact Rouge and the others. We find the emeralds. If they don't work...we'll take him to the Master Emerald."

Tails nods but doesn't say a word.

Sonic was counting on him.

* * *

Blue lids fluttered open slowly, revealing bright emerald irises at the sound of the bedroom door opening and closing softly. Locke had been taking care of him, as well as another echidna; a female by the name of Aurora. She was a light pink echidna with bright blue eyes, and wore light blue robes that wrapped loosely around her body. She had a golden ring on both of her front dreadlocks, and a frenzy of bangs that would sometimes cover her face. She was sweet, and loving, and always spoke with a soft yet firm voice. She had been a Chaos Researcher many years ago, and eventually rose to become a goddess. What a goddess like her was doing in such a place, she said softly that her spirit was trapped when Perfect Chaos unleashed his wrath. She did not say anything else on the matter.

Locke would not say what happened to him, or why he was here at all. All he would say of it, was that he failed someone he was sworn to protect, and he can only hope they forgive him in the future, as well as the person who assigned him the job.

As for the blue blur, it took him a while to get use to the great change. It freaked him out to not have a pulse, and to not need to breathe in air, but he eventually pushed it aside and forced himself to ignore it.

Locke explained to him that when a Chaos Being dies, their Chaos soul is separated from their bodies, and they are sent here. They have one year to make the journey to gather the seven Spirit Emeralds, which are simply the spirit forms of the Chaos Emeralds, and place them in their respected temples scattered across the realm. There was a catch, however, and not a pleasant one.

In order for them to revive themselves, they need to make contact with the living world, and have someone from there gather the seven Chaos Emeralds and find the temples to place them. The Chaos and Spirit Emeralds had to be placed down at the exact same time in both realms in order for it to work. Meaning, if Sonic placed a Spirit Emerald down on its pedestal, someone on Mobius needed to place the Chaos Emerald on its pedestal at the same exact time.

Getting the message to Mobius was the hardest part, Locke explained. In order to go to Mobius, a Chaos Being needed to gather just enough energy to travel to Mobius itself. The moment they managed to arrive on Mobius, they would begin losing a steady amount of energy every second that passed. "No one can see, hear, or feel you," Locke said. "You are a ghost to them.

"In order for you to be able to send them a message, you need to be quick and smart. Everytime you interact with a real-world object, you lose a heavy amount of Chaos energy. Even a task as simple as picking up a pencil can drain you in seconds, and I cannot lie when I say it isn't exactly a pain-free experience. You need to first get their attention, let them know you are there, and as you get use to it, as your Chaos energy gets use to it, you can eventually send them bigger messages, or even write to them."

Locke also explained the matter that Sonic does not seem to have a time limit. "Usually when a new soul comes here, we only have a year to get our life back. We are given a ring right when we enter here, and we cannot take it off until either time runs out, or we manage to escape. You were not given a ring, which I can assume that only means you do not have a time limit. You can take as much time as you need to stabilize and regenerate your energy."

He gave Sonic something that looked like a watch, with a dial placed at its center. "Look here at the top; when the dial is here, you are either out of, or dangerously low on energy. When that happens, you need to rest, and take it easy. When the dial is down here, you have a high amount of Chaos energy. Anything over here to the left indicates you have more than enough to last you quite a bit, but that has never happened to anyone before. I recommend going and trying to send a message to your friends when the dial is down here."

Sonic wore the black little dial on his left arm, and found himself watching it almost constantly when he wasn't sleeping.

He needed to see Tails.

It was a lot to take in for him, but the more he laid there and thought about it, the better he felt. There was a chance for him to go home, and he would definitely take it.

He sat up slowly and blinked at Locke, who stepped in the room with a cup in his hand and a smile on his face. "We technically don't need water, but the lake not far from here seems to help boost our energy."

He sits on the side of the bed and gives the glass cup in his hand to the hedgehog, who smiled and took it with a shrug. The water never tasted so good...

Locke frowns as he watches Sonic put the now empty cup on the nightstand beside the bed. "Sonic," he starts, and the cobalt teen perks up with instant interest. "For one, are you okay? You've been very quiet..."

Sonic frowns, his hands subconsciously playing with the sheet in his lap, and he looks down. "I...um...I guess I'm okay." Locke purses his lips in thought, before reaching over and gently lifting the hedgehog's chin back up, to meet his eyes. The echidna's voice was soft and understanding. "I know this isn't easy to take in all of a sudden and all at once. I'm going to do everything I can to help you."

Sonic smiles, his ears folding slightly to their sides at the kindness. "Thank you."

Locke smiles in return, before nodding. "Okay, now, I have a warning for you..."

Sonic's ears perk upwards once again, more interested than scared if anything. "There is someone here in this world, who likes to think of himself as a unstoppable 'god'. He is more like a demon."

Sonic raises a brow, but does nothing but listen. Locke continues. "His name is Mephiles the Dark, and he is one half of the sun god, Solaris. Are you familiar with that at all?"

The hedgehog's eyes widen. "Solaris? Like...the Sol Emeralds?"

The elder nods. "Yes. Just as Chaos and the Chaos Emeralds in our prime dimension, there is Solaris and the Sol Emeralds in an alternate dimension."

"Blaze's dimension..." Sonic murmurs, before frowning. "She is the Sol Emeralds' guardian."

"She is," Locke explains, "and she is also their controller, because her world no longer has a Master Emerald."

The hedgehog's eyes widen. "Wait, so Blaze _is_ the Master Emerald? Is that what that thing is on her head?"

Locke smiles. "Yes."

"How is that even possible?"

The echidna looks up as he thinks. "You understand how Chaos resides inside our Master Emerald? Solaris use to do the same inside its own emerald in her dimension. Some short time after Blaze was born, her parents had started experimenting with the emerald and the power inside of it, to see if they could harness it for themselves. In the process they accidentally shattered the emerald and released Solaris. The god was angry for what they did, and tried to punish them for their actions. The only way to stop Solaris was to split him apart as they did. Mephiles the Dark was sent here, in the spiritual realm of Chaos. Iblis was sent to the future of Mobius, where he would be defeated some time later. Since the Sol Emeralds no longer had a controller, they gathered whatever power remained of the Master Emerald and sealed it inside Blaze. The only way for her to get rid of this, is by reuniting both Iblis and Mephiles and sealing Solaris back inside the Master Emerald."

Sonic's mouth dropped open. "W...wow..."

Locke chuckled at the hedgehog's amazement. "She has yet to discover her destiny, however I fear we are suffering from it. Mephiles, as I explained, is here, and he wishes to escape."

The hedgehog tilts his head to the side. "So...that means trouble?"

The echidna nods. "Very much so. You are special in the way of Chaos you are not ready to know of yet. Mephiles, however, knows of you, and what you are, and he has undoubtedly made you a target."

Sonic frowns. "Then this won't be as easy as it seems..."

A small beep sounded from the dial on the blue blur's wrist, and the hedgehog held it up. The dial was halfway down the small watch, and Sonic's emerald eyes lit up. Locke smiles. "I've never seen anyone regenerate so quickly... Before you know it you'll be out of here on your way to the emeralds."

The hedgehog's smile broadens. Locke stands up. "Why don't you get up and come with me? You're more than well enough to at least get on your feet. I'll show you around more and answer any more questions you may have."

He holds out a hand to Sonic, who takes it eagerly. "Fine by me... I hate not being able to do anything."

Locke chuckles, before reaching for something he put on the bed, and handing it to him. "Here, wear this. Many of the Chaos Beings up here are going to feel your energy and freak out because of it. Might as well not draw any more needed attention to yourself."

Sonic frowns and takes the black cloak, giving the guardian a concerned look. "Why would they freak?"

"Well, as I said, you are unique in Chaos that you don't need to know yet. There's so much for you to learn. Just understand that people here know who you are, Sonic. Some of them may praise you, some of them may avoid you, and some of them may be servants of Mephiles. You need to be careful at all times."

* * *

"Is...the sky always like that?"

The sky in question was a dark purple, covered with black and grey clouds as far as the eye can see. Locke scowls. "It wasn't before Mephiles came here."

Sonic frowns. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

The echidna shrugs and leads the hedgehog away from the small house. "Not that we've found out so far, but we're working on it."

The two made their way down a small path, passed a few houses here and there. There was nobody else out, and it was oddly quiet, making the normally laid back hedgehog tense up uncomfortably. "I guess you could literally say this place has a haunted feeling," he mutters.

The echidna chuckles dryly. "You and me both... It's a little better in the more populated areas, especially in the areas where people have lived here the longest. Those people usually have a 'whatever' mood and don't care anymore."

Sonic raises a brow. "So...are you guys stuck here forever?"

"It feels like it, but after so many years of living here, we eventually move on I guess."

"That sucks..." Sonic mumbled. "It's like you have to suffer if you're a Chaos Being..."

Locke looks up as they walked. "It use to be beautiful here, and a lot of us were a lot happier. It almost felt like a reward after everything we've been through in life...but then Mephiles came and turned this place into... Well, hell is a good word for it."

"So," the cobalt starts, "if you guys defeat him, or get rid or him, or whatever it is you have to do, this place will be better for everyone?"

The guardian stops and grabs the hedgehog's shoulders. "Sonic...I know where you're going with this. Don't worry about us and Mephiles. You need to focus on getting home where you're needed. Where you're supposed to be. Think about your friends, and Mobius."

Blue ears fall backwards. "What if there's something I can do?"

"There is nothing," Locke says softly. "Aurora and I and everyone else will figure this out on our own. You don't belong here in a place like this."

Sonic shrugs. "But I'm here. If I have all the time in the world to get back home, why not use it to help you guys out?"

The echidna shakes his head. "Listen to me, Sonic. The answer is no. Think about what Tails, and Knuckles, and everyone else is going through right now."

A guilty look crossed Sonic's face then, and he looks down sadly. That's something he _has_ been thinking about. Did Tails hate him for what he did?

Locke grabs the hedgehog's arm and gently pulls him down the path again. "Come on, now. I want to show you something."

A while after walking quietly in the seemingly deserted land, the two stop at the base at what appears to be an old temple. The temple itself was tall and wide, made of dark brick and mortar, with a large picture of the Master Emerald above the wide, arching door. "Woah..." Sonic murmurs. The roof of the temple was a straight pyramid that struck the sky at a sharp point. Gargoyles sat perched at the corners of said roof, looming over as if guarding the sacred ground. Locke motions for the hedgehog to follow him, and Sonic does, up the tall stone steps into the darkness of the temple itself.

A long hall stretched out in front of them, with white marble floors and white, pearl walls. Golden vines laced around the walls and ceiling, sprouting light blue flowers and golden leaves. There were pillars on either end of the walkway, vines spiralling up them. They lined the golden path down to the main room of the temple, where both mobians stepped into next.

Colored glass reflected and shone down into the center of the room upon an empty pedestal, the golden vines resting there as well. They stepped up to it, and Sonic blinks in awe. "So...this is where the emerald will go once I find it?"

Locke nods. "There is a temple not unlike this one somewhere within the same coordinates on Mobius. You would need to get your friends to place the Chaos Emerald on their pedestal, the same time you place the Spirit Emerald on this one."

The hedgehog's brows furrow. "How are we supposed to do that at the same exact time?"

The echidna shrugs. "Well, when you have enough energy to go to Mobius, you could set up a time somehow when you both place the emeralds down."

Sonic looks up and around the temple, taking it all in. "That could work..." He turns and looks to the elder. "So...where would I find the Spirit Emeralds?"

The guardian shrugs again. "You should be able to sense them like you would a Chaos Emerald, but it isn't easy with all the other Chaos energy around here." He pauses and thinks. "They could really be anywhere, just like the Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic groaned. "Great. I've always loved emerald hunting... Rings are so much easier."

Locke laughs lightly. "Because you don't need to hunt for rings. They're just always there."

"Exactly," Sonic says. "The emeralds should just always be there. Same for this place."

"I wish it were that easy," the echidna says, "but the emeralds split after someone manages to use them to go home."

Sonic tilts his head. "How often is that?"

He didn't like the grim look the guardian gave him. "Not too often, my boy. A lot of people just give up. They either can't handle the journey, or they can't handle the pain of it all. Some just don't care."

They turn and begin making their way out of the temple. Sonic crosses his arms. "But what happens, say, I go home, but then I die again?"

Locke stops and turns to look at the hedgehog. "You won't."

The hedgehog pauses. "I...what?"

"You'll be immortal, Sonic."

The hedgehog's mouth drops open. "Does...that go for everybody?"

Again Locke shakes his head. "Just you. Again, there's a lot for you to learn, my boy."

"So what happens to everyone else?"

The guardian shrugs. "Beats me. They don't come back here. I'm guessing their spirit moves on. I've heard people say that when a Chaos Being is revived, they lose their Chaos energy and become a neutral, normal being."

"So why am I special?"

The echidna sighs. "You will learn in time. I know you're curious, but ever hear the saying curiosity killed the cat?"

Sonic chuckles. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not a cat, although aren't I already dead?"

Locke couldn't help but laugh.


	3. Two

_Two~_

Blue ears perked up as their owner crouched down, alert and cautious. Convincing Locke to let him leave the safety of their little field had been difficult, but the hedgehog had always been good with his words, and persuading someone was as easy as breaking the sound barrier. The old guardian warned him all the way to the end of the grassy plain to be careful, careful, careful, and to not let Mephiles spot him. Sonic had promised he would, but he honestly had no idea how he would fare. He didn't even know what Mephiles looked like...

He now sat perched up on a high tree, hiding in the leaves as he watched a group of Chaos-mobians -which he had been calling them as of late- walk down the tall hill and eventually enter the outskirts of a city. The black cloak whipped in the wind around him, and the cobalt hero pulled it closer to hide his body. He had already received quite an amount of odd stares, the last thing he needed was to actually be spotted. He squinted his eyes and studied the city carefully. No cars, but many people wandered the streets, looking as if they lived ordinary, _living_ lives. Shopping bags, grocery lists, business suits... He frowned, watching them. How long did people stay here for? It was if they weren't even dead, just living in another world with a different kind of life.

He supposed that was a good thing. Who would want to just sit around and do nothing for Gaia knows how many years? At least like this, it helped these spirits cope more, and hopefully give them the time to go over the mistakes they made in life. Sonic's brows furrowed as he thought about having to live here for that long, never being able to take in a fresh breath of air and be able to always have something to look forward to. His ears flatten sadly. The sooner he got out of here, the better.

He closes his eyes and tries to focus on any particular strong Chaos energy signals nearby. It was a lot harder here than on Mobius, since every single person living here was made of Chaos energy. On Mobius, it was pretty much just him and Knuckles. _And if Shadow ever comes back..._

His ears flick in annoyance when he came up empty. If there was an emerald in the city, he'd have to go down there to find it. With a huff of irritation, the hedgehog stands up on his branch and jumps down to the green grass below. _Figures nothing is ever that easy..._

He takes a few jogging steps forward before he takes off running down the hills, the wind threatening to pull his cloak off. He held onto it with one hand as he ran, his emerald green eyes seeming to shine even under the darkness of the hood as they looked around for a good place to enter the city...without drawing any unwanted attention. He stayed a good ways under the sound barrier, not wanting to unwillingly announce his presence, and once he got near enough to the large buildings, he slowed down to a jog, then to a walk.

He slipped passed through the crowd of people, hiding his face as he went. A few that sensed his energy would turn and look, but when their eyes tried to find him, he was already gone. He kept his pace as fast as possible, all the while stretching his Chaos senses to try and feel for the emerald.

The energy signal seemed to get stronger the deeper he went into the city. He stopped, quickstepped into an alley, and leaned against the wall of a brick building. The signal was stronger than ever where he was. Was there already a Spirit Emerald nearby?

He walks out of the alley, his eyes falling on the bright, neon sign hanging above the building's entrance. A bar. _Wonderful. Hopefully the people in there aren't like they are on Mobius..._ He shuddered at a bad memory, before he pushed his way inside.

It was slightly cramped, and his claustrophobia was sent on edge. With a swallow and a brief moment of, _pull yourself together, Sonic,_ he begins wandering around the warm, alcohol-air filled place, taking in the faces of the mobians he passed by. If he got too close to one, they would look up at him, immediately sensing his energy. _I'm just looking for an emerald. Leave me be..._

An emerald that somebody else obviously had.

A bright glimmer then caught his eyes, and he turns and gapes. There it was.

A pinkish colored emerald sat beautifully on display behind the bar, behind thick glass which lit up with the gem's glow. With a bite of his lip, he looks around for the bartender, and spots her pouring a glass of dark whiskey for an old cat seated there.

She was a small, thin panda bear, with bright yellow eyes halfway hidden by thick black bangs. Her short hair was in pigtails behind her head, and she wore a faded yellow dress that wrapped tightly around her body. With a frown, he carefully steps up to the counter, trying to think of what to say and how to go about this. He needed that emerald.

The panda stops and looks up, directly meeting his emerald green eyes. She stares at him for a moment, watching him curiously. With a nervous feeling in his stomach, he turns and looks at the emerald, before back to her.

Surprisingly, her mouth formed a small 'o' at his gesture, and she nodded. He raised a brow and watched as she placed the bottle of whiskey under the bar, before she made her way over to him and leaned on the counter in front of him.

"I had a feeling you were new," she says, her voice soft and quiet. He tilts his head. "How'd you figure that one out?"

She gives him a sympathetic smile. "Well, besides the fact I've never seen you around before, your Chaos energy. Really strong energy you got there, hon."

He shrugs and taps his fingers on the counter. "I've been here for about a month already, I think."

She sighs. "Yeah, recovery usually takes that long. I'm glad to see you're going about doing something for it."

"Getting my life back?" he asks, his ears flicking under the cloak he wore.

She nods and grabs a nearby towel, wiping the counter with it in a bored manner. "Yeah. Most people just give up."

He frowns. "Did you?"

She smiles again and shrugs. "No, I tried at first. I wasn't able to get the emeralds in time though... It's hard work, let me warn you."

He gives her a small smirk. "Eh, I'm sure I can say I've been through worse."

Her smile grows. "You're an interesting type. I like you. It's always good to get your confidence up. Tell you what," she leans forward again, her voice very quiet now. "I can't just give you the emerald right now, not when we're so full. I don't want anyone seeing that you're new around here. It could cause trouble."

He frowns at that. "Why's that?"

She tilts her head. "Have you heard of Mephiles the Dark?"

He glowers slightly. "Yeah, I've been warned of him."

She nods her head in the direction of the crowded bar. "He has spies lingering around, reporting when someone new comes here in this realm. I personally think he's looking for someone in particular, but I've heard rumors about bad things happening to those he takes."

"Sounds like fun..." the hedgehog muttered sarcastically. She runs a hand through her bangs, pushing them aside just for them to fall back over her right eye. "I just don't want to get you into trouble, hon."

He smiles gratefully at her. "Appreciated." He turns and looks behind himself with a frown at the crowded bar. "Do I have to stay here? Or is there some place I can meet you?"

She could sense his discomfort in his words, and nods. "You can meet me behind this building. We close in a few hours, so I'll see you then."

He smiles again. "Thanks a bunch, Miss...?"

She laughs lightly. "Hazel."

"Ah..." he grins, tapping the side of his head by his eyes. "I wonder why."

Another laugh, the female blushing lightly. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Is there anything I can call you by, or do you wanna remain anonymous?"

He frowns, not really thinking too much about his name. Locke never mentioned if anyone here knew his actual name...

Noticing his hesitation, she holds up a hand. "That's alright, hon."

He chuckles. "I guess it would just be better if I didn't give my name out to anyone."

She raises an eyebrow and smirks. "Quite an important person you are, hmm?"

He holds a finger to his lips and copies her smirk. "So, three hours then?"

She nods. "Be careful, hon."

He gives her a small wave before he turns and begins heading out of the bar. Stepping outside, he makes his way back to the alley and walks to the back of it, leaning against the wall with a sigh. He closes his eyes and frowns, before looking around himself. He looks up then, towards the roof of the building, and makes his decision. He jumps up and places his foot on the building right behind the bar, and jumps off of it, landing on the wall of the bar. He jumps back and wall jumps all the way up, until he reaches the roof of the bar itself. There was a small canopy under the door to the roof, and he walks over and sits beneath it. A yawn passes his lips and he leans back, his eyes shut, but his ears perked up and alert.

Already an emerald, just sitting right below him.

He had a feeling he could trust Hazel, but he had a hunch this wouldn't be as easy as it seemed to be...


	4. Three

_Three~_

Three hours. He sat there for three hours.

As much as his legs were kicking to get on the move again, he didn't want to risk going somewhere else and running into trouble. Not in this place. Not now. The name Mephiles kept ringing in his head over and over again. The way everybody talked about him just made him feel uneasy.

Fifteen more minutes passed and Sonic began to grow uneasy. He sat perched on the edge of the roof, looking down into the alley below. Finally, the back door opened and Hazel cautiously stepped out, pink emerald in her hands.

He jumps down and lands with a soft tap of his shoes in a crouch, and flinches guiltily when the panda jumps, holding her chest. "Chaos, hon! You 'bout scared the life back into me!"

He chuckles, standing straight to his feet, stepping over to her. "Heh, well wouldn't that've been a good thing?"

She sighs and holds out the emerald. "I suppose so~"

He smiles and takes the emerald, looking at it curiously. He's never seen a pink emerald before...

She tilts her head. "The Spirit Emeralds look a bit different then the Chaos Emeralds, huh?"

He nods and rolls it around in his hand. "Yeah, but they feel the same."

She studies him for a moment, before sighing again. "Listen, hon, be careful, alright?"

He looks up at her and smiles. "Of course!"

She shakes her head. "I know, but Mephiles is...well... I'd just hate to see another friend fall because of him is all. The most of us just wish the best for each other, but that demon has corrupted many of us as well. He can see through their eyes, hear through their ears..."

Sonic frowns at that, letting the emerald dissolve into his hand as he absorbed it and its energy. "I hear ya..."

She smiles. "Good luck, hon. Stay safe, and-"

"Be careful?" he finishes with a lopsided grin. "I know."

Hazel laughs, pushing him away. "Yeah, yeah. Now go on! Get a move on before someone decides to check you out."

"Wouldn't be the first time," he says with a shrug as he turns and begins to make his way out of the alley. "Thanks for the help!"

She smiles brightly and waves him off. "Of course, hon!"

He jogs slowly out of the alley, takes a look up and down the street, before he takes off at a run that seemed too slow for himself, but only a flash of wind to everyone around him.

* * *

He decided to go back to Locke's field, just for safe measures. The elder echidna was waiting there for him, as was Aurora, sitting on the front steps of the small house the guardian lived in. They both stood up once they saw the flash of blue, both eager to hear his news and see if he was alright. The hedgehog stopped abruptly in front of the pair and held up the pink emerald, a proud grin over his muzzle.

"Well?" he asks, almost mockingly. "Whaddaya think?"

Both echidna's were startled by this sudden display, their eyes widening in shock. It only took a minute however for Locke to smile and bring the hedgehog into his arms in a tight bear hug. "Amazing!" he cheers, and Sonic laughs at his enthusiasm. Aurora smiles and hugs him as well, once Locke let go of him. "That's wonderful, dear!"

Sonic tosses the emerald up and catches it with his other hand. "One down, six to go!"

Locke nods and takes the hedgehog's free hand, pulling him back into the house. "Then you are ready to see this. Come on, now."

Sonic blinks, but follows right behind the guardian as he pulls him through the living room, down the hallway, and into an office on the right. Aurora follows the both of them, closing the door behind them as they entered. Sonic blinks again, taking in the large office with curious, child-like eyes.

There were two large, dark brown bookshelves on the far wall, filled to the brim with journals and encyclopedias and many more books of all kind thrown a bit lazily on the shelves. To the right was a window, and two green chairs on either side of it, and a small table in between them. To the left of the room was a large desk, with a wide map hanging above it with different pins and marker circles covering specific spots on it. There was a wide variety of papers and books and pencils and rulers and such scattered messily across the desk, picking at the hyperactive hedgehog's OCD. Behind them on the wall were necklaces and strange tribal trinkets hanging on the wall, as well as another smaller bookshelf with picture frames and other valuable items sitting on it. The walls of this office were brown, and the carpet was the same green color as the chairs by the window. Besides the mess, the room was relaxing in a way. It made the cobalt blur miss Knuckles.

Locke was going through the mess on the desk, muttering to himself about _'it being here somewhere...'_ Sonic could feel the sweat drop from his head, looking back at Aurora with a raised brow. She giggled and winked at him. _'It bothers me too,'_ he could practically hear her say.

"Ah, here!" Locke exclaims, lifting up a folded, thick sheet of light brown paper. He unfolded it, and laid it out on top of the clustered desk, before motioning for Sonic to join him.

The sapphire teen stands beside the elder echidna, looking down at what appeared to be another map. The same circles were drawn out over this one, but it looked a lot neater and nicer than the one hanging up.

"Here," Locke points. A pink circle was drawn over a particular spot on the map, and he looks up to Sonic. "That's where you must put that emerald. You cannot just put any emerald in any temple you wish."

"Ah..." Sonic mumbles. "It's not like the Gaia temples then."

Locke's eyes widen. "You've been to the Gaia temples?"

Sonic chuckles. "Yeah it's...a long story."

The echidna waves him away then, nodding in understanding. "Anyhow, take this map with you. It's important if you want to stop by the temples while searching for emeralds. That's how I recommend doing it, if you happen to have the emerald on you while searching for the others."

Sonic nods. "Alright, sounds like a plan."

Aurora places her hands on her hips, speaking up. "Wouldn't it be a good idea of him to try and send a message to his friends?"

Locke pauses, his brows furrowing in thought. "Hmmm, maybe." He looks at Sonic. "How is your Chaos energy?"

Sonic frowns and lifts up his arm, looking at the dial on his wrist. The small needle was pointing all the way down. When he sees this, he smiles. "Good!" he exclaims, showing the echidna for himself. Locke smiles at that, nodding. "Alright. I guess I can show you how to travel to Mobius. Are you ready?"

Sonic nods enthusiastically, wanting to see his friends more than anything. _And see if Eggman is still..._

"Okay now," the previous guardian of the Master Emerald starts, taking Sonic's hand. "You have an emerald, which might, no, _should_ help you out some with this. Just focus your energy like you would with a Chaos Control, but picture Mobius. Think about a particular spot, if that helps, just anywhere and anything about Mobius and focus your energy there. Got it?"

Sonic nods. "I think so..."

He does as he's told, closing his eyes, picturing the meadow outside his and Tails's home. He pictures it perfectly; the large, magnolia tree that should have bright pink blossoms all over it by now, the lush green rolling hills that waved in the wind, the dark trees scattering the plains, shadowed by the sun as it soared across the sky. The Great Forest surrounding it on all sides, its trees thick and full of dark green leaves, birds landing on them and singing peacefully.

With this perfect image in his head, he holds the Spirit Emerald up, feeling both his energy and the emerald's spiralling around each other. "Chaos-!"

* * *

Tails leans back in his chair and rubs his sore eyes. They hurt from hardly any sleep, crying, and the unusually high amount of caffine he had consumed within the past month. Sonic's Chaos energy had risen and fallen, risen and fallen, in a seemingly steady pattern that would fool anyone into thinking he was simply sleeping. Maybe he was? Tails hadn't any clue, but he could only hope it was a good thing.

They had all pitched in with helping, whether it be Rouge and the Chaotix hunting the Chaos Emeralds down, or Amy, Cream, and Vanilla helping Tails around the house and lab. Knuckles had moved Angel Island close by, where he was studying old scrolls and notes from his father that could tell him anything about Sonic that would help.

The two-tailed kitsune himself was usually at his desk, at his computer or going through papers Knuckles had given him, trying to locate emeralds and figure this mess out. A yawn takes ahold of him, and he has to rub the tears out of his eyes, his yellow ears flattening to the sides of his head. Vanilla told him he needed sleep, but he couldn't. Not yet. Not when Sonic needed him so badly.

He sighs and opens up his laptop, opening up the writer so he could jot down his notes. He turns and reaches for the papers, yawning again...

..and then the papers went flying across the room.

* * *

 _"Shoot!" Sonic exclaims, a hand flying over his mouth as he watched all of Tails's precious work scatter across the lab. The fox in question just sat there, frozen, his arm extended half way, his mouth dropped open and his eyes wide in shock._

 _Sonic couldn't help but hurl over in laughter._

 _Locke hadn't been kidding when he said something as simple as picking up a pencil would be a difficult task. Just trying to lift one piece of paper had drained a bunch of his Chaos energy, and left him with quite a shock from his fingertips, all the way up to his arm and chest. The sudden pain had caused him to freak out a bit, and in turn send the papers flying across the large room like a tornado had whisked by._

 _The mischievous hedgehog had always wondered what he would do if he were a ghost, and what trouble he would get himself in. He always thought about scaring Tails or Knuckles, or haunting Amy's house, or simply making a book float in the air and freak anyone out that walks by. Of course, he felt sort of bad for it, but he had to admit, it was funny watching Tails go from drowsy and tired, to wide-eyed and surprised in less than a second._

 _The two-tailed fox was now running around the room, picking up the mess of papers, his eyes still wide. When he was done, he holds the papers in a stack in his arms against his chest, looking around the room frantically. It wasn't like there were any open windows._

 _Sonic chuckles. "I guess we're off to a good start."_

 _...but how exactly was he supposed to do this?_

 _He watches as the now spooked fox kit takes his papers to his desk, setting them there neatly beside his laptop._

 _The laptop._

 _He could type with the keys!_

 _Tails turns and takes one last look around the room, before breathing in deeply and sighing. Sonic gave him a sad look, wanting to talk to him, tell him it was going to be alright; the fox just looked terrible._

 _The golden mobian rubs his eyes, before turning around about to sit down at the desk._

 _"Hey, Tails!" Knuckles's voice sounds from outside in the living room. At the call of the echidna's voice, Tails hops up and runs out of the room, eager to hear if the guardian had any good information. Sonic could feel the lump in his throat grow, wanting to see Knuckles as well, but, alas, he had a job to do, and with very little time._

 _With a nod to himself, he turns around and eyes the laptop. He reaches forward and tries pressing a key..._

 _It wasn't easy._

 _It felt like he was trying to push a large rock into a hard patch of clay dirt, and using a lot of Chaos energy doing so. He shakes his head as he finally gets the letter "t" to appear on the screen, running his hands through his quills. He hunches over the keyboard now in determination, his mind set on getting a message to his friends. He wouldn't give up._

 _"Alright, Tails. Let's see if you remember our secret code..."_

* * *

The fox sighs. "It's better than nothing, I guess."

Knuckles frowns sheepishly. "I tried my best, but I can't find anything else. I'll look again, but..." Tails holds up a hand to cut him off. "No, it's fine. Let's just get the Chaos Emeralds and then figure things out from there."

The echidna swallows and nods, following Tails back into the lab. "Have you heard from anyone?"

Tails nods as he sits in his chair. "Rouge thinks she may be close to an emerald. The Chaotix have one already."

Knuckles nods and crosses his arms across his chest. "That's good, I guess. Anything about Eggman?"

Tails shakes his head and swivels around in his chair to face his laptop, which was currently displaying the screen saver. "No, but since we couldn't find him there, he either got away or..."

"Was fried to bits?" Knuckles asks. The fox yawns and stretches, before swiping his finger on the mouse pad.

He freezes.

"Wh...what is...what is this...?"

Knuckles raises a brow and steps over to the fox, leaning forward to take a look at the screen.

 _"tis, tk te rd eead 2 pit: V9 C3 788. se yu tee"_

Knuckles blinks. "What is that?"

Tails was frozen, his mouth hanging open in shock. "Sonic..."

The echidna blinks and looks at the fox with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

The fox shakes his head, writing down the words on a piece of paper. "Sonic and I made up this code a long time ago when we first started fighting Eggman. We used it to send messages back and forth to each other in case he managed to tap them."

Knuckles blinks. "So...what is this?"

The fox's heart was pounding. "Knuckles, this page was blank when I left the room. It says; 'Tails, take the red emerald to point: V9 C3 788. See you there.'"

The ruby mobian stares dumbfounded. "Where do you think it came from?"

The fox bites his bottom lip, staring at the computer screen with tears forming in his eyes. "Knuckles...Sonic and I are the only ones who know this code..."

"And... What? You think ghost-Sonic did it?"

Tails turns and looks at the echidna with a small smile across his muzzle. "I'm not sure, Knuckles. We still don't understand why he still has Chaos energy in him but...this right here," he points at the message, "has Sonic written all over it. What if he isn't really gone, Knuckles? What if he's still here, but..."

The echidna looks at the computer monitor with a blank expression. "Tails...if this were anyone else, I'd say you're crazy but...Sonic _is_ known for his miracles..."

"So, we take the red emerald and go there?" The fox sounded hopeful. Pleading.

Knuckles smiles softly. "We might as well, and be ready for anything I guess."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _What would you do to your friends and/or family if you were a ghost? Hehe, I'd get revenge..._


	5. Four

_Four~_

He groaned and rolled over to his side.

Nearly all his energy had been drained from the trip to Mobius. Not just Chaos energy either; he was just as mentally and emotionally exhausted as well. Seeing Tails and hearing Knuckles's voice for the first time since he 'died' was just...relieving and sad at the same time. He missed them more than ever. He missed running. He missed _breathing_ , for Chaos's sake...

The sound of the door opening and shutting caught a blue ear's attention, and he opened his eyes to smile weakly at Locke, who was walking to him with a glass of that weird Chaos water...

"How are you feeling?" the echidna asks, helping the hedgehog sit up with one hand, handing him the drink wth the other. Sonic takes it with gratitude, taking a deep drink of the liquid with all the eagerness of a parched mobian. Locke watches in silent amusement as the hero gulps the drink down, it being gone within seconds. Taking the glass, he allows Sonic to stretch out for a moment, before the blue blur answers.

"I'm okay. Better than the first time I guess." He shrugs.

Locke nods. "It'll get better over time. The more you do it, the easier it'll be for you." He pauses and raises a brow. "Did you get them a message?"

Sonic nods. "Yeah. I actually typed out on Tails's computer, and told him to take the red Chaos Emerald to the temple's coordinates."

Locke stares, wide eyed. "Wow...I mean, that's great!"

Sonic shrugs, his smile growing. "Well, I had to kind of abbreviate everything, 'cause I was losing a lot of energy."

The ruby elder nods. "Oh, I know. It isn't easy, but you did very good for your first try at it."

Emerald irises seemed to light up like stars at that statement, and Sonic grins modestly. "Well, if you say so!"

* * *

"Be careful."

"So you've told me a hundred times already, Lo'ke."

The echidna sighs, strapping the backpack on the blue blur's back with a great deal of hesitance. "I mean it, boy. You have an emerald, you're bond to raise some attention for sure. Just stay away from everyone until you get to the temple."

Sonic nods, pulling the hood of his cloak up. "Aye, aye, captain!"

The echidna grins. "Then take care."

Sonic smiles and waves, and in a bright flash of blue, shooting across the field and plains beyond, he took off to the first temple.

* * *

Sonic frowned as he came to a halt. The temple for the pink Spirit Emerald sat atop a high mountain, surrounded by many smaller ones all around. Locke's notes on the map said there was a clearing in the mountain where the temple was. The echidna had told him before he left that the emerald would guide him to the center.

He could see the mountains in the distance, covered with the dark grey clouds that they reached up into. The eery purple sky never changed, but the clouds seemed to get darker during the night, he realized. It had to be almost sundown, he guessed as he took off across the grassy meadow, headed straight towards the mountains at full speed. Locke had warned of snow higher up the rocky landscape, and as he drew nearer and nearer he could feel the chill in the air. He was pretty high up north.

The moment he reached the base of the mountain, the hedgehog jumped, curled into a ball, and spindashed himself forward with the momentum of a speeding bullet. He landed on a outcropping of rock someways up, before not even a second later he threw himself up higher towards another. A grin curved his lips at the rush of adrenaline the climb gave him. If he so much as slipped a meter, he would be sent falling to his doom...

Well...it wasn't like he'd die or anything. It'd probably hurt though...

 _I've fallen from higher,_ he shrugged with a grin.

He manages to climb his way up to the top of the smallest mountain, shivering slightly from the cold. He perched there and held a hand above his eyes, emerald irises scanning the snowy, rocky land for anything that stood out more than normal. Nothing.

With a frown he holds up his hand, the pink emerald appearing in a flash of light in his palm. It glowed brightly and beautifully, and he smiled at its warmth. "Alright, take me to your home."

He jumped and began running down the other side of the mountain, locking on to the emerald's signal. Sometimes it would waver, and he would make a turn or jump a rock, and it would begin to grow steady again. He ran up a particular large mountain, the ice cold wind blowing in his face, feeling the emerald's strength grow stronger and stronger.

He was close.

He begins running across the mountain at dangerous speeds, feeling the signal strengthen. He then makes a turn downward, and there it was, the clearing he had been searching for.

He practically cheered when he saw it; these mountains weren't as nice or fun as IceCap on Angel Island was, and leaped in the air and landed on a fresh pile of snow at the bottom. Jumping up to his feet and shaking himself off, he eyes the temple, dark like the other one, and covered in a concerning amount of snow. It at least looked like he could get in there...

Doing just that, the hedgehog shakes himself off again and blinks in surprise at the change of temperature. The temple was a lot warmer compared to outside, and just as magnificent as the other one in Locke's field.

With a satisfied yet tired smile, the blue blur begins to make his way down the path, wondering how on Mobius he was going to arrange this. He needed to make contact with Tails again, and tell him to put the emerald on the pedestal at a certain time.

He decided midnight would be best. Locke said that the emerald pedestal would light up then, and shoot a beam of light up at the ceiling.

He frowns, walking into the center of the temple where the pedestal sat perched, awaiting the Spirit Emerald. He wondered if Tails had gone to the coordinates. If not, then he'd have to wait a little longer...

He yawns and lets the emerald dissolve in his hand, stretching boredly with his arms above his head. "I hate waiting..."

 **"Then you wouldn't mind some company, hmm, little hedgehog?"**

* * *

The Tornado sputtered under the blasts of heavy wind and snow, Tails scowling as he fixed his goggles over his eyes. Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy hung on with him; Rouge and Knuckles on the wing, Amy sitting in the seat behind him.

"You see anything?!" Tails called through the howl of wind, praying to Chaos that they wouldn't crash into a mountain or get stuck somewhere.

Knuckles held the red Chaos Emerald close to his chest, while his other hand tried to shield his eyes from the blizzard. "Not yet no! We're still in the clear, though!"

The fox frowns deeply. Rouge smirks to herself. "Blue just picks the most lovely places, doesn't he?!"

Tails laughs lightly at that. "He sure does!"

"Wait a minute!" Knuckles calls, beginning to make something out in the distance. "Tails, I think that's it!"

"Give it a thirty-degree landing, foxy!" Rouge calls as well, seeing it for herself. Tails nods and begins angling the plane downward, slowly and steadily as possible with the harsh weather.

 _Gaia help me, Gaia help me, Gaia help me..._

"Hold on you guys!"

The Tornado sputtered once more, not liking the environment she was being forced to fly in. Tails begins pressing buttons, seeing the ground coming up real quick. "Okay! We're going in walker transformation, so hold on!"

The three passengers aboard do as their told, gripping on to the aircraft with gritted teeth. With a final push of a button, the plane begins to shift its form.

The Cyclone lands with a heavy thud in the deep snow, shaking both Knuckles and Rouge off and onto the cold ground below. Tails and Amy groan from within the vehicle, their heads pounding from the impact.

Spitting snow out of his mouth, Knuckles sits up and wipes the cold substance out of his eyes, before setting the amethyst gems forward, squinting through the wind in his face.

A dark object sat in the middle of the blizzardy-mess, and the Chaos Emerald in his hand glowed. "Hey!"

* * *

The fur on the back of his neck stood upright at the chilling voice, and he spun around with his fist raised, eyes narrowed.

Then those eyes of his widened.

The being before him was...a hedgehog. His form was a dark, jet black, his quills upturned in a way that reminded the blue blur of Shadow. The stripes going down his quills were a mix of grey, blue, and purple, and the spines were sharp and jagged at the end. He had the same crystal-type stuff over his arms, with sharp claws at the end of his fingers. No shoes, just the same crystal stuff over his feet forming more of the deadly claws. His eyes, were red, while his irises were a bright, blazing green. A sharp toothed grin curved the demon's lips, and Sonic could only come up with the obvious answer that this, was indeed Mephiles the Dark.

"Well, nice I finally get to meet you," Sonic huffed, trying to shake his uneasiness. Mephiles chuckled darkly.

"I could say the same, Sonic the Hedgehog," his voice was low and chilling to the bone. "Tell me, what brings you here to such a place?"

Sonic shrugs. "Oh, you know, the whole saving the world, desperate times call for desperate measures, being the hero that defeats the villain, that sort of thing."

The crystalline form tilts his head slightly to one side. "A bit too desperate, I assume?"

The cobalt scowls. "Nah. I was a goner before that part."

Another dark grin from the dark hedgehog. "Ah, I see. Well, allow me to properly welcome you to my domain."

A gasp tore its way from Sonic's mouth as something hot and slick wrapped itself around his ankles. A cry left him next as the strange dark, shadowy vines shot up from the ground and grabbed ahold of his wrists as well, while one wrapped itself around his neck, choking him.

"-the hell?!" he exclaims. Mephiles begins walking towards the young hedgehog, his grin never fading. He watches as Sonic tries to pull and tug out of the vines, laughing to himself at the amusing yet pitiful sight. "How quaint. I've always wanted a _pet_."

Sonic's eyes narrow dangerously at the comment, a low growl rumbling in his throat as the demon-god stepped up directly in front of him, a little too close for comfort. "Yeah well," Sonic chokes, "I'm too expensive for you."

"Hmmm," the dark creature hums with a smirk. It didn't go passed the blue hero that the demon's eyes seemed to be trailing up and down his body in quite a...suggestive manner. He also wasn't oblivious to the vines slowly traveling up his thighs, making him shake uneasily.

Mephiles grabs the soft fawn muzzle of his captive with a smirk, wringing another growl from the fiesty blue creature. "Refuse me now, my _pet_ , but I will make you bend."

Before he could even think of a snarky comment, the demon's mouth was on his own.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _I wasn't sure about publishing this, but after a while of thinking about it I decided, ah to hell with it. I love Mephonic, and there really aren't that many stories anywhere about it. I'm just trying something new is all._

 _I got the idea of Sonic "dying" a while ago, when thinking about ideas for Demons. I decided that I wasn't going to kill Sonic in Demons (spoiler?) and use it somewhere else. The idea is also a bit inspired by a series of books I read a while back, but I'm not gonna tell you what they are, because I don't want to spoil anything lol. Still, best books I ever read. If you think you might know what they are, send me a PM and if you're right you'll get a cookie :3_

 _Anyways, yeah cliffhanger, but I'm already working on the next chapter. Possible smut? You'll have to wait and see._


	6. Five

**Author's Note:**

 _Wow, first I update 'Shattered,' then I update 'Waking Up,' and now you guys get an update for this?_

 _Nows when you ask me what kind of crack I'm on._

 _Actually, I've just gotten a lot of motivation to get my stories all updated. I got a new work schedule, and so I have time to actually write now and get online more often._

 _I'm also trying to draw a bit more, so those who are following me on DeviantART may have noticed a bit more activity from me there as well._

 _Now, I am so, so, so, so, so sorry you guys have had to wait this long for an update. I've been so busy and so tired and so done with life that I haven't even had the time to sit for a moment without shit going down. I literally had no free time whatsoever. I couldn't even sit down and eat without rushing out the door to go to work or sit down at my desk and finish an assignment._

 _Hopefully things are starting to get together in my chaotic life. It only took me a year or two, but I'm finally getting somewhere. Yay for Anonymoux!_

… _and now, without further ado, I owe you a chapter. A very M rated one if I may add. No spoilers. Lots of shit going down._

 _Enjoy~!_

* * *

 _Five~_

There was this one time, during a pretty violent battle with a hedgehog who looked exactly like him, yet a different shade of the color spectrum, he encountered a very awkward experience. Namely another male forcing his back against a tree, one hand pinned upward, the other frozen on the other's chest, while his legs were forced apart by a demanding knee, their bodies pressed up against each other, and warm, wet lips on his neck.

The situation had been more than shocking to him. While his doppleganger fondled him and let his hands wander in places they most certainly shouldn't, he was stuck, completely taken by surprise, locked up, conflicted. The feelings were overwhelming, the motions were dizzying, and it was the first time he had ever felt any kind of…intimacy with a person.

Of course, he had ended it once he collected his bearings. A nice punch to the face and kick to the groin was enough to end whatever that had been, and thankfully where it planned to go. With a pink face, he had beaten the other apart, swearing at him to never touch him again.

He hasn't seen him since.

Then there was this time, Amy begged, begged, begged for him to come over to her place for a lunch and movie, of course, as just friends. Well, he decided it was the perfect opportunity to tell her how he felt; that he didn't want a relationship with her, and he wasn't interested in the slightest.

So, he went, and they had lunch. He tried to talk with her, but she was so energetic.

Little did he know it had been a trap, and she thought it would be a good idea to try and put some kind of 'love potion' in his drink. He had a feeling she got it from some shady person who was just selling some random drug for money, yet knew she would be naïve enough to fall for it.

It wasn't love potion.

He went home, no movie, 'sick'.

Sick wasn't even a word to him.

A red face, hot body, sweat dripping down his pelt, and he was locked in his bathroom, freaking out. He had no idea what to do with himself and the growing pain below. He tried sitting in an ice cold bathtub, and it still didn't help him. He went insane for the six hours it lasted, doing everything from running in circles, banging his head on the wall, digging in his cabinets for some kind of herb or medicine to stop it…

He eventually just curled up in a ball on the floor, whimpering the whole time.

To put it simply…

…he had no idea how to handle sexual interactions.

It wasn't something he ever took the time to learn or listen to. He was too busy running around the world, saving the galaxy, and smashing robots. 'Love', 'romance', or 'sex' wasn't something the blue teenager ever even thought about…or wanted to think about.

So when the demon and monster known as Mephiles the Dark had grabbed him by the quills, his tongue forced into his mouth, while those hot, wet vines traveled up his thighs, in between them, caressing his crotch, he could of screamed in complete fear and shock.

Instead he froze down to the bone, completely unmoving, his heart pounding faster than he could ever run.

The demon's tongue was slick and slippery, dancing in his mouth, tracing along sharp, white fangs, feeling against his own tongue, circling it, massaging it, to the roof of his mouth, before tilting his head slightly to get in even deeper, while one of the vines had enough nerve to prod the sheath in between his legs, threatening to slip inside…

He couldn't take it anymore. His mind was growing hazy, and he felt he might black out from the anxiety in his chest. He let out a choked, muffled scream, pulling and tugging against his restraints, trying to turn his head away from the handsome demon.

The dark creature slowly pulled away, not before lapping his tongue across those swollen, fawn lips, biting the bottom one, and pulling away with a tug. His hand gripped the hero's muzzle firmly, while a sharp, pointed smirk stretched across his muzzle, the bastard smug, and he watched the flushed face of his captive go from surprised and fearful to downright enraged.

"Y-You-!" Sonic exclaimed, his voice a choked growl.

Mephiles chuckled, watching the dark wisps of his energy curl around that svelte, sapphire body, feeling around his curves and in between strong legs. " _You_ ," he starts mockingly, his voice low and sultry, "are absolutely _delicious_ …"

Sonic couldn't help but shudder, feeling another vine slide up his rear, coiling around his blue tail. Just the feel of dark energy radiating off of the male above him, was enough to wobble his mind. He felt weak and hot, heavy yet shaky, and the pressured feeling in his lower stomach was confusing the hell out of him. Tiny tingles of electricity flowed through him everywhere the vines touched and molested. The one poking at his crotch decided it would be the first to tempt fate…

A high pitched, strangled cry broke Sonic's lips as he felt the heat lap against too sensitive of skin. His back arched and his irises shrunk, his body jerking as the vine wrapped itself like a snake around the tip of his most private parts. He felt his heart stop, and he swore if he could breathe, he would be panting by now. His fists clenched, nails digging into the cloth of his gloves, while his wrists strained under the hold of the vines. His eyes squeezed shut, feeling the vine tighten around his shaft, and he leaned forward, trying to shake it all off…

"Gyah-ah-ahhhhsssstoooop-iiit-!" he screamed, feeling the heat rise from his groin up to his chest, flushing his pink chest and muzzle a deep crimson. He heard a dark chuckle in his ear, and he shivered, as the demon's chin rested on his head in between flattened ears.

Another vine decided to join in the fun, the one toying with his tail… It unwrapped itself, before prodding up against a small hole just underneath…pushing…pushing...pushing…

Sonic lost it. The hot squirming was like a tongue in that tight hole, writhing up inside of him, slickening up those tight walls, pooling in deeper until it brushed against a spot too sweet to handle. A blinding white pleasure shot through his entire body, and all courage, all bravado, went straight out the window.

" _Ah-AH! Stop it! Stop-it-stop-it-what-areyoudoing?!"_

Mephiles laughed, before he purred, pressing a warm, delicate kiss atop the panicking mobian's head. "You're in my domain, now, little one. That means you belong to me."

Sonic cried out, his entire form wracking and trembling uncontrollably. This was too much…way too much! He whimpered, struggling to pull away, even though he knew there was no hope.

"Ahnnnn..." he groans, before a harsh thrust in his backside, like a blade into tender flesh, shot through him in another wave of unwanted ecstasy, jerking his body forward. "Aaaah, gods, _stop it!"_

"You're mewling pretty loudly for one telling me to stop, little kitten," Mephiles chuckled. "Why don't you cry a little harder, now?"

The demon grabbed the back of the hero's quills, yanking harshly back, revealing a blue neck. He leaned down and pressed wet kisses across it, as the vine tightening around his abused member gave a harsh pull.

" _AHha-I can't!"_ Sonic screamed, completely gone. _"You have to s-stop! Stopitstopitstopit!"_

His body was broken, his mind was blurred. His head spun and his thoughts were disintegrated. The pressure…oh there was so much pressure…building below…growing faster as his stomach tightened, the demon easing…easing…easing…just a bit further into that shaken blue body…

All the hero saw was white. The scream that tore from his lips was involuntary, forced from him as the pressure finally caved, and a hot, clear liquid spewed from his tip, dripping onto the floor. He mewled and cried out, his body wrought with trembles and vicious shudders, melting like heated pudding…

The vines suddenly pulled from him, dropping the dazed body forward into the demon's arms. "Nnngghhh…" Sonic struggled, trying to focus his eyes, but to no avail. He was numb all over, the only feeling that of frequent aftershocks, sending the last remains of striking pleasure through his form. He wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and sleep forever, and he whimpered, his brain slowly processing what just happened to him.

If he weren't already dead, he would have wished he were. The humiliation was stricken across his flushed face, his eyes wide in pure horror.

"Now listen closely, little kitten," Mephiles purred softly in his ear. "That was your easy start. You want to go home? Well that comes with a price."

He grabbed Sonic's chin again, forcing the frightened hero to meet his malicious gaze. Sonic's face paled slightly behind the blush, his teeth clenching together fearfully.

"You will submit to me, if you want to leave," Mephiles warned, his tone lowered and menacing. "You will be mine, and you will be my door to leave this world. If not…"

Sonic shuddered, feeling a loan vine roam up his legs, his hips, his chest…

"I'll take you by force. Each and every time you place an emerald down, I'll take you. I'll make you scream, I'll make you cry." He leaned closer, the blue hedgehog two seconds away from losing a nerve. "I'll fuck you until all you can ever think about is me and me alone. Your freedom will be mine. Your body will be mine. I'll be inside you as long as you live, taking you whenever I want, however. I. Want."

Sonic forced himself to growl, shaken beyond belief. "W-Why…w-why m-m-me?"

A devilish smirk was his answer, Mephiles practically glowing in dark delight.

"Your energy, your power, is the key to this world, to leaving it. If I can own you, I own that key…and besides," his lips were just grazing the hero's, so close… "you're so beautifully crave-able, I could never get enough of taking you between those lovely legs of yours…"

"You're sick," Sonic hissed, his blue ears pinned back, quills raising slowly. This dude was obviously insane, crazed, evil…he couldn't even think of the word for him.

'He's the _devil_ …'

Mephiles chuckled, pulling away from the hero, dropping him to fall on his hands and knees. "The decision is yours, kitten. The next time we meet, you can either submit to me, or I take you by force. Choose wisely."

He disappeared in a flash of purple light, and Sonic sat there, wide eyed and shocked.

"Wh-What. The. _Hell_ …"

* * *

He had only a little bit of time to clean himself up. He was so hot and irritated, the cold snow didn't even bother him as he used his Chaos Energy to melt it and wash up with it…

His mind was rattled. No, that was an understatement. He was so mentally fucked he couldn't even say his own name. What had just happened put him in a state of complete shock.

Mephiles was insane. Stay away was underestimated. Get the fuck away as soon as possible was a better way to put it.

He had hell of a story for Locke when he got back…

Now he stood, shaken, waiting for the moment the post would light up, and he could put the emerald in its place. He just hoped Tails did the same on the other side. He prayed, really. He wanted to leave this place as soon as possible…

He swallowed, trying to collect his bearings. He was caught off guard this time, so next time he would be ready.

He nodded, wishing he could take in a deep breath and let it all out.

Unfortunately before he could even think about missing the ability to breathe, the pillar lit up like a star.

* * *

 _The blue hero frowned as he bent down, stretching down to his toes. He stands back up straight, taking in the sight before him..._

 _Eggman's base, bigger, badder, surrounded by water, traps, a few Death Egg Robots, hundreds of Eggpawns, both big and small, while in the center was the doctor's lair itself._

" _Are you sure this will work?" Knuckles said from behind him, kneeling on one knee as he fixed his shoes. Tails, standing on Sonic's left, smiled brightly. "Of course it will! We have this one done, easy."_

 _Sonic chuckled, loving the way the kit talked just like him. He holds his wrist up to his mouth, speaking loudly in his communicator. "Is everyone ready?"_

 _Amy was the first to respond, with a chirp of, "Clear over here!"_

 _Rouge smirked as she replied, "Same here, darling."_

" _Affirmative," came E-123 Omega's robotic voice._

" _Team Chaotix is ready to go!" Vector exclaimed, his teammates, along with Mighty and Ray, nodded in agreement._

" _We're all set to go, Captain," Tails cheered brightly, like a soldier ready for battle. Sonic grins, wiping off his noes with a swipe of his thumb._

" _Alright then, guys, let's do it to it!"_

 _With that said, the Tornado takes off somewhere in the distance, Mighty grinning as he spins it around a few times. Sonic, followed by Tails and Knuckles, dive down off the platform they stood on, dashing at the speed of sound towards the head of the robots. Vector, Espio, and Charmy made their way through the clearing that Team Sonic made for them, getting Rouge to the control console that would tear down Eggman's forcefield. Amy flew her own plane, a bright pink thing, helping Mighty clear out the hordes of badniks for Sonic to get through. Omega, on the other hand, was having a field day blasting apart tens of robots at once._

 _Once the shield was down around Eggman's lair, Rouge gave the boys the okay, and Sonic grabbed both Tails and Knuckles by the wrists, blasting through with a sonic boom._

" _Let's rendezvous at Point B," Sonic orders as he runs, getting himself and his two best friends inside the building._

" _Alright, we're on it!" Rouge calls, along with the other Freedom Fighters._

 _The three run up a few floors, busting robots and traps along the way. Lasers shot out here and there, while red lights flashed and alarms rang in their ears. Getting to a balcony outside, the heroes climb up the blocks on the side of the fortress, like giant stairs, until they reached a small roof._

 _Sonic lets out a victorious huff, glad thing were going smoothly so far. Amy's plane lands, followed by the Tornado, as Mighty hops out. The pair run up to the team, Amy smiling, Mighty grinning._

" _Best plan ever," the armadillo laughs, exchanging high-fives with Sonic, who chuckled._

" _Don't jinx us," he jokes, turning around as the rest of their team joins them._

" _Alright, boss, what now?" Rouge smiles, slightly panting from the battle so far._

 _Sonic points up, to the tallest tower on this fortress. "Eggman's there," he points to the second tallest, "Our emeralds are there. Tails, Knuckles, Mighty, Espio, and I will go confront bald and ugly," he turns to the others. "Rouge, Omega, Vector, and Charmy will get the emeralds." He nods towards Amy and Ray. "You guys will stay with the planes, and if we need air support, Ray you're in the Tornado with my team, and Amy you're in your plane with Rouge's Team."_

 _He takes a glance at each of them. "Is that clear?"_

 _Everyone nods, cheering in agreement. He grins. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"_

 _With that the team scattered, each to their designated targets._

 _Might was at the head of Sonic's team, slamming his fist into the wall to give them an opening in, while Omega practically tore down the tower to get Rouge's team inside._

 _Sonic was a spiky ball of fury, spindashing the walls and ricocheting off of everything like a pinball, destroying every robot he touched. Knuckles was right behind him punching down enemies, and once in a while throwing Tails into enemies, who would curl up and destroy them almost the same way his older brother did. Espio took out most of the lasers and robots by sneaking up on them, while Mighty tore up everything the rest of the team missed._

 _The large, metal doors at the top exploded with a bang, as Sonic's team busted through, the blue leader himself grinning in victory._

 _Eggman scowled._

 _The room was huge, a arching dome that sat atop the tower like a crown. Eggman sat on the other side of it, sitting in his Eggmobile like a throne. There was nothing really definable in this room. It was cold and grey, no robots or anything, just completely empty._

 _Alarms immediately went off in Sonic's head, knowing this couldn't be good. The madman was obviously hiding something big in this room, and he had to be ready for it. No Space Colony ARK trick was going to go down on him today…_

" _The hell?" Knuckles grumbled under his breath behind the contemplating hedgehog, a bit freaked out by the room before him. The others seemed to agree as well, not liking this one bit._

" _Wassup, Egghead?" Sonic greeted, ready for anything._

 _The doctor continued to glower at him. "You're either getting more stupid by the minute, or just arrogant, hedgehog," he growls. He presses a button on his control console, leaning back in his seat as the room started to change. "I'm willing to bet the former."_

 _The room practically spun, large panels coming up out of the walls and floor, and 'oh look,' Sonic couldn't help but think. Robots, hiding in the floors, and a particularly large one behind the doctor himself, attached to his eggpod, stepped up and out._

 _Mighty grins. "This is going to be fun."_

 _The heroes tense, before the robots charge forward, and they leap, ready to fight._

 _Meanwhile Rouge was busy picking away at the computer, muttering under her breath. "It's times like these I miss Shadow."_

 _Vector, after tearing a robot in half, looks at her curiously. "What ever happened to him anyway?"_

 _She sighs, shaking her head. "Beats me. The bastard disappeared after he defeated Black Doom. Probably up in the ARK laughing at all of us right now…"_

" _Shadow is a traitorous scoundrel," Omega adds, before fireblasting a small army of robots to fried bits._

 _Rouge smiles sadly, glancing at Vector. "That's his way of saying he misses him."_

" _Uhh, guys," Charmy starts slowly, looking out the window where Team Sonic was currently at battle. "Do you think they need help?"_

 _Rouge huffs, looking up as the shield around the six Chaos Emeralds dissipated. "I don't doubt it, but these emeralds should be all the help Sonic can get."_

 _She raises her wrist to her mouth, as Charmy and Vector start grabbing emeralds. "Sonic, we got the emeralds. How many do you want, and what do you want us to do with the rest?"_

 _It was nothing but static for a moment, before Sonic's voice spoke through, a bit raspy. "I need at least three of 'em. Give the other three to Amy and send her, Charmy, and Ray outta here. The rest of you get up here and -woah!- get up here and help us out! You're in charge of the Tornado!"_

 _She nods, looking up at the others who overheard him. "Alright, hon, give us two minutes!"_

 _She motions for Charmy and Vector to move it, while instructing Omega to cover them._

" _Guys!" Amy cuts in, sounding extremely worried. "One of the Death Egg Robots is trying to collapse your tower! Get out of there!"_

 _That's when the explosion took out the bottom of the tower._

 _Screams were heard as the structure starting tumbling down to its side, Rouge immediately taking flight next to Charmy, grabbing the heavy as hell Vector, while Omega used his rockets to keep himself up. They flew out of the collapsing tower, which fell right onto the robot responsible for its demise._

 _Panting, they land down next to Ray and Amy, who were visibly concerned._

" _A-A-Are you al-al-alright!?" Ray exclaims, before Amy could. Rouge nods, waving at Charmy. "You two and Charmy are taking three of these emeralds and getting out of here. The rest of us are going up."_

" _What?!" Amy exclaims. "I wanna go up! I can help!"_

 _Rouge glares at her. "That's an order from Sonic, hon. As much as I would appreciate your help, we need someone to get these two home safely with the emeralds."_

" _I'll go," Vector volunteers. Rouge looks at him incredulously for a moment, before looking at Amy again. After a few more seconds of pleading looks, the bat girl sighs. "Sonic's gonna kill me for this, but okay, fine."_

 _Amy lets out an excited cheer, while Vector gets the two young ones into her plane._

 _Then a sudden shreaking caught their attention. They look up at the tower the fight was going down in, and their eyes widen when Tails's horror struck voice cries into their comlinks._

" _W-We got a problem up here! Eggman's got Sonic in a trap!"_

 _Rouge looks down at Vector. "Get out of here! Amy, Omega, let's go!"_

 _Up in the tower, Sonic hissed under his breath. Knuckles grit his teeth, struggling to pull apart the circular device trapping Sonic's left leg. It covered his ankle up to his thigh, three, large metal rings tightening around his leg. It was attached by a wire to the giant robot's arm, the one Eggman was currently controlling. The doctor was laughing hysterically, while Knuckles and now Mighty and Tails tried to free their friend._

 _A loud whirring sound made the group look up, wide eyed. The robot's arm had detached itself from its body, and shot up to the ceiling right above it, connecting like a magnet._

 _In turn, this pulled Sonic with it._

 _The hedgehog let out a yelp of surprise as he was whisked up, hanging upside down by his leg trapped in this machine. He groaned, his vision blurring for a moment, before he closed his eyes and shook his head. His leg was throbbing, under the stress of hanging from the ceiling._

 _Tails and Knuckles screamed at the doctor, before they all cried out in shock. The floor beneath them shook and moved apart, sending them backwards to the perimeter of the room._

 _Sonic let a curse slip passed his lips, one of his eyes closed, the other squinted as he took in what just happened. So much for not falling into the same web twice…_

 _As the floor moved, it reviled nothing but water underneath, dangerous looking fish badniks swimming around like piranhas inside. Another curse left the blue hero. Of course water was involved…_

 _Then the machine started lowering him, and his eyes widened._

 _Rouge, Amy, and Omega ran into the room, just in time to see a clear dome fold over the water, and Sonic, blocking them from saving him._

" _Omega!" Rouge cries. "Can't you break it down!"_

 _The robot dashes forward, joining Knuckles and Mighty in bashing the glass in unlikely hopes. Amy joins them, whipping out her hammer, hitting it and screaming at the doctor as well._

 _Rouge runs over to Tails and Espio, frantic now. "Is there any kind of control panel or something? Anything to stop this?!"_

 _Tails, shaky, fearfully, pulls up his map of the building. "Th-The power s-station is all the way over here. That's why Sonic said we couldn't take it out first. Even if we did, there's a backup generator all the way on the other side of the base…"_

 _Rouge's ears flatten. "S-So…what do we do?"_

 _Sonic leaned up, trying his damnest to pull apart the device holding onto his leg. If he could get out before he hit the water, he could run across it, giving them some time. Anything at this point would help, really._

" _Now, Sonic…" Eggman pauses in his laughter to grin menacingly. The machine stopped, Sonic's ears just a foot away from touching the water, his dangling quills just dipping in it. He looks up and glares at the human, who seemed hazy with all this blood flowing to his head…_

" _The last Chaos Emerald is missing, and has been for quite a while now…" He presses a button on his console, and the three metal rings holding onto his leg, spun and opened up. Sonic blinks, realizing that strong, metal bands were actually keeping the hold on his leg, while the metal rings extended away. Then, out of nowhere, all around the very top ring, by his ankle, metal spikes shot back, outwards from the ring, making him jump. Oh…that did not look good._

 _Eggman practically giggles now. "You know where it is…so…tell me, where is it?"_

 _Sonic looks back at the doctor, his heart stopped in his chest. He did know where the last Chaos Emerald was. He was the only one who knew where it was._

 _Taking in a deep breath, he smirks, weakly, and shakes his head. "Nope, can't do that…"_

 _Eggman's grin broadens. "Oh, really then?"_

 _And then that metal ring closed down with a snap, those metal spikes going straight into his ankle._

 _The screams his friends made was louder than his own, as his vision went completely red. Pain fired through him faster than he could run, blood already dripping down from where the spikes penetrated._

 _The second metal ring opened up, spikes very much like the first one shooting outwards. Sonic coughed, wheezing, before spitting out a clot of blood into the water below. He's been hurt before, but this was too much…_

" _Now let's try that again," Eggman huffed. "Tell me and you just might be able to run again, rodent. Where is the last Chaos Emerald?"_

" _Stop it!" Tails screams, while Knuckles curses loudly, their punches not getting anywhere._

 _Sonic coughed again, his ears ringing. If Eggman found out where that last Chaos Emerald was…it would be all over for all of them._

 _A weak, broken chuckle leaves his lips. "Nnn-Nah… D-D-Don't th-think s-s-so…"_

 _The second metal ring clamped down, right over his knee and around._

 _He couldn't even scream this time. His mouth opened but no sound he made could ever describe the pain he felt. It felt like his leg was being torn apart, bit by bit. Those spikes were huge, all the way around his leg, blood pouring down from where they impacted. Fear clouded his mind, the thought that he would never be able to run again beginning to haunt him._

 _It was too late now, however. The damage was done. If he gave in now, it would all be for nothing._

 _He couldn't even hear his friends' screams anymore. He couldn't even hear Eggman berating him._

 _Tails fell to his knees, sobbing. "St-stop…this isn't…this isn't fair…"_

" _Goddammit!" Knuckles screamed, his namesakes bleeding as he continued to ram them into the dome._

" _The Tornado!" Rouge cried. "What if we used the Tornado to blow it up?!"_

 _Sonic groaned, Eggman's laughing just as painful as the spikes in his leg. He honestly didn't know which was worse at this point…_

" _One last time, hedgehog! Where. Is. The. Last. Chaos. Emerald?"_

 _Sonic focused his eyes just enough to meet the doctor head on. He couldn't stop the sneer from pulling his lips, as he growled the word, 'No.'_

 _The last ring closed around his thigh, before dropping him into the water, electricity flowing through it like a current…_

" _SONIC!"_

 _Tails was crying, Knuckles was screaming. Eggman was laughing hysterically. His vision was blurry, but he knew he was in pain. Terrible, excruciating pain. He could hear a female's voice yelling at someone in the background...Amy, and a pounding that was most likely her hammer. Another shock and wave of blinding white pain tore through his body, and he couldn't stop the scream from breaking his lips._

 _An explosion could be heard in the distance, and someone mentioned the name 'Omega'. Tails was sobbing now, pleading, begging. Eggman just laughed harder. He found himself not able to breathe then, choking on something, inhaling it...water...and another wave of pain broke his body, making him only take in more of the fearsome liquid. He tried his eyes, but found it still impossible to see._

 _Then he began to feel...warm. A strange, but familiar energy could be felt rising inside of him. It was like a warm flame, enveloping his body and bringing a comfortable embrace to him. He reached out for it, knowing it was his only hope. Suddenly, Eggman was no longer laughing but screaming the words, 'No! No! No! No!' and he was no longer in pain, no longer choking on water, but powerful, unstoppable, and ready to fight. Ready to end this._

 _His dark form was only something he used when he absolutely had no other choice. This was that moment. What bothered him yet was the fact that he still could not see. Of course...he still didn't have full control of this form yet. He trusted his friends would get to safety...because he was going to put a finish on everything that Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik ever was and wished to be. "I'm sorry, Kintobor..."_

 _The last thing he felt was an explosion, and he couldn't help but grin as he lost his form. Mobius was safe, Eggman was...hopefully gone, and that's all that mattered to him. He remembered Kintobor's wish: For all life to live happily, with no evil in the world. Did he do it? Even if he was unable to save him, was Kintobor happy with him? Everything was fading around him, and he could hear distance screams and calls for his name. Would Tails understand?_

 _He heard someone scramble down to their knees beside him, and someone lift him up in their arms. "I got you, Sonic! You're gonna be okay!" Tails was sobbing... He wished he could hug him... "Wake up, Sonic! Please, wake...up..."_

* * *

Tails stepped back, watching with wide eyes. The pillar had lit up suddenly, out of nowhere, and without even thinking he had slammed the emerald on the pedestal.

The blinding light made the group step back, covering their eyes. When the opened them, they stood, gaping, and Tails collapsed on his knees.

Sonic stood, holding onto the emerald pedestal as if he would drown without it, his body a translucent blue, glowing slightly, but there.

Sonic was there.

Right there.

The blue hedgehog blinks a few time, stepping away from the pillar, before noticing his friends all in front of him. All staring at him.

They could _see_ him.

Slowly, a smile crawls across his face, and he wishes once again to take in a fresh breath of air, but still unable to.

"S-S-Son…" Tails starts weakly, as the blue hero steps around the pillar, kneeling in front of him with that glowing smile of his. "S-Sonic…"

The hedgehog chuckles, winking at him. "You got my message…"

Tails couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his muzzle. Rouge and Amy both wiped at their eyes, while Knuckles only stared, silent and dumbfounded.

Tails sniffles loudly, slowly reaching upward. Sonic does the same, but instead of their hands meeting, Tails's goes through Sonic's. This made Sonic frown, and Tails let out a choked sob.

"You…" he starts, "You're still h-here…b-but…"

" _How?"_ Knuckles stresses, unable to believe it. Sonic looks up at him and smiles softly.

"It's…a lot to explain, but I have an hour, so that should be enough time."

Tails leans back, sitting on his legs. "E-Everything. You…y-you tell us everything…"

Sonic chuckles, sitting back as well, his legs criss-crossed in front of him.

"Alright, now where to begin?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Aww…_

 _So that's when Sonic 'died', and now he gets to see his friends, and they get to see him for the first time in months. Meanwhile Sonic's getting to know Mephiles…_

 _I'm so terrible, aren't I?_

 _This chapter was a lot longer than I planned, but I was just so into it I couldn't stop~_

 _As some of you may have noticed, I'm uploading this story now, and I'll probably go over it tomorrow to fix any grammar, spelling, etc mistakes. Right now I'm too tired._

 _Next story to be updated will either be a whole new story, or one of my two sonadow stories: "Welcome Home," or "I Am Who I Am With You". The third new story is going to be sonadow as well, because, why da hell not~?_

 _Goodnight~!_


	7. Six

**Author's Note:**

 _Your guys' reviews always make me smile~_

 _Anyway, I'm sure you're questioning how in the world I've done so many updates within the past few days…_

 _Honestly I have no idea. I just have a lot of motivation to write, is all._

 _Anywho, next chapter; enjoy~_

* * *

 _Six~_

"So," Tails starts carefully. "We have to collect all seven Chaos Emeralds, and find these temples. Then we have to place the same color Chaos Emerald down, the same time you put down a Spirit Emerald?"

Sonic nods. "Exactly, and I can contact you guys every once it a while, when my energy builds up enough, to tell you what emerald, and where to go, and when."

The yellow fox smiles excitedly. "That's amazing! Then you can come back!"

The blue hedgehog chuckles, but it sounded a bit hoarse. "Well of course!"

"Is it really that easy, though?" Knuckles asks, doubtful. "What if we mess up? Or is there some kind of time limit?"

Sonic sweatdrops, feeling his friend's concern. "It's…well… There is no time limit, as far as I know. For some reason, I'm the only Chaos Being that doesn't have one. If we mess up on setting an emerald down, we can just redo it again the next night."

"So, that's it then?" Amy asks. "Just like that?"

Sonic shrugs. "Besides my Chaos Energy. It takes forever for me to regenerate, even though Lo- the person whose helping me says I regenerate a lot faster than normal beings."

Rouge tilts her head. "Is that why it's taken you so long to contact us?"

Sonic nods. "As far as I know, I've been out of it most of the time. I woke up not too long ago." He frowns then, looking at all of them. "How…long have I been gone?"

"Two months," Knuckles says, his voice grim, causing Sonic's ears to fold down.

"Do you guys know what ever happened to Eggman?" he was hesitant to ask, and they could all see the worry in his translucent green eyes.

Tails shakes his head first. "No…we searched after but…we couldn't find him."

"For all we know," Knuckles starts grimly. "He could still be out there rebuilding."

Sonic grimaced, before shaking his head. "That's just wonderful…" he mutters sarcastically. "I have no idea what happened after I went Dark…"

They all shared the same pained looks, the memories fresh in their minds.

"Well, if it makes you feel better," Amy said. "Everyone is okay."

"And you completely demolished that base," Rouge adds with a sad chuckle.

Sonic opens his eyes, blinking. A small smile curved his fawn lips. "That's good to know, I guess."

"You sound a bit weird," Knuckles points out. He had noticed Sonic was talking a bit odd, his tone different.

The blue hedgehog blinks again, trying to figure out what that meant, before realization flickered in his eyes. "Oh, that's because I'm talking without breath. I can't breathe like this…"

They all stare at him in shock. "You mean, you can't…?" Tails asks worriedly. Sonic shakes his head.

"No, so it's kind of weird to talk, and I can't smell anything, either." He chuckles. "You never realize how normal it is to do something until you can't do it anymore…"

Again, another blanket of heaviness hit the air.

Tails rubs his stinging eyes. "It's really good to know you're not gone forever, Sonic."

"I can say the same," Rouge speaks up. "The world's too dull without you, hon."

The blue hero smiles sadly, glad to hear that his friends really missed him. He was sad for them, but it was nice to truly see how much he meant to them.

A thought came to him then, and he frowns. "Have you guys heard from Shadow at all?"

Rouge shakes her head. "No, sweetie. He's still nowhere to be found, if he isn't on that ARK."

"Why do you ask?" Knuckles questioned, and Sonic's frown deepened.

"It's just…" he pauses, looking down, his brows furrowing. "There's this…guy here in this other dimension I'm stuck in, who looks like Shadow. I mean, he's nothing like him, but he just looks like him."

"Who is he?" Tails asks, and Sonic rubs a hand through his quills.

"I'm not exactly sure, but he's a big problem. He pretty much has turned that place from nice and happy, to dark and depressing. He controls a lot of people there, and destroys any good that tries to make it through there. He wants out, and he's chasing me around."

Knuckles sits up. "He's chasing you around?"

Sonic nods, a small scowl curving his lips. "Yeah. He wants to use me to break out of there. The people there are trying to find a way to get rid of him, and they don't want me to get involved, but he's a monster. I don't know if it would be better if I let him out and then took him down, or tried to find a way to do something about him in there."

"Is it that bad?" Amy asks, and Sonic nods.

"He's already attacked me," he looks down, his face darkening slightly. "And I don't want to deal with him again. He's absolutely insane, and Chaos knows what all he can and will do…"

He sounded shaky, like he's already had a very bad experience with the guy.

Knuckles frowns deeply, not liking any of this. "So, you're debating on letting him out so you have a better chance fighting him?"

The Hero of Mobius nods again. "Yeah, but I don't want you guys to deal with him. I mean, he's real trouble. If Shadow were here to help, maybe I would be all for it, but he's not, so…"

If Sonic was concerned about something, than it obviously was a problem. The friends exchanged looks, worried ones.

"Are…you going to be okay?" Tails asks.

The hedgehog shrugs. "Yeah, I should be fine, as long as I'm prepared is all. He caught me off guard, but next time he shows up, I'll be ready."

"Just be careful," Knuckles says, fully concerned. "We want you back as soon as possible."

The hedgehog smiles. "Aw, that's flattering coming from you, Knux."

The echidna blushes slightly, and Rouge laughs. "He's got a point, though. You shouldn't be there, you should be here."

Tails nods in agreement. "Yeah, Sonic. The sooner you get home, the better!"

The hero chuckles. "Yeah, I know."

The pillar behind them suddenly lit up, causing them to jump. Sonic's eyes widen, and Tails sits up. "What's that mean?"

Sonic looks back down at himself, and sure enough, a part of him was starting to fade away.

"Heheh, looks like time's up…"

He looks up, and he freezes. His friends were all staring at him in complete despair, as if they were never going to see him again.

"Hey," he says softly. "Don't look at me like that."

"You'll contact us soon, right?" Knuckles asks, and the hedgehog grins.

"Of course!" he looks at Tails, who looked as if he was about to start crying again. "Just keep your laptop open and on that text document. It's not easy to do much of anything else."

"You," Tails chokes with a weak smile. "You threw my papers all over my room…"

Sonic chuckles, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that. It isn't easy to do anything when I travel over here."

Most of him was already faded away, and the friends knew this would be the last time they seen him for a while.

"Be careful, Sonic," Amy says, choking on her own tears.

Knuckles nods. "Yeah, don't do anything stupid."

Rouge smiles sadly at him. "We can try to find Shadow for you," she offers.

Tails nods. "Y-Yeah, a-and we'll collect all the emeralds to save you!"

Sonic chuckles, smiling sadly. "Sounds great. I'll see you guys again soon, just do what you can here."

Before they even got to say goodbye, he was gone.

Tails fell to the ground, and sobbed.

* * *

Pain was spiraling through him faster than he could handle. He tried to sit up, but another wave of the torment coursed through his body, making him cry out and curl up into a ball instead.

"Easy, Sonic. Give yourself a minute…"

He curses under his breath, his brows furrowing. He was tired of always hurting, he was tired of not being able to breathe, he was upset his friends were so sad, he was irritated with not being able to do anything without collapsing, he was just…and then Mephiles…what he did to him…

He swallows, holding his hands up to his head, curling into the bed.

' _I can do this… I can do this… Everything's going to be fine…'_

"Sonic," he could hear Locke's concerned voice, feeling him pull him up some and into his arms. "Hey, easy, don't give out on me… Come on, Sonic…"

The hedgehog bites his bottom lip, feeling the world crash down around him.

His chest hurt so bad, as did his throat, and at first he had no idea what was wrong with him, until he felt something wet on his face.

He was…crying?

Once he realized it, he snapped.

A sob tore from his throat, and he buried his face in Locke's chest. It was just too much for him right now, and after everything that had just happened…

Locke sighed, pulling the hedgehog into his arms and cradling him. "I know, buddy," he murmurs softly. He was honestly surprised Sonic didn't crack sooner. The hedgehog had been keeping as optimistic as possible, but there was only so much a person could take.

He couldn't stop crying, and it pissed himself off. He wanted to stop, to get up, go find the next emerald, but his body wouldn't listen to him. He choked, before whining, before he sobbed again, more tears spilling from his eyes.

' _I want to go home…'_

He was shaking violently, shivering and coughing, a complete mess. Locke runs a hand through the hedgehog's blue quills, quietly murmuring to him. "I know, it's gonna be okay…"

"H-H-Hom-me…" Sonic chokes out, before sobbing some more. The echidna nods, completely understanding.

"I know, bud, and you'll be able to go home, but we've gotta find those emeralds first." He pets him again, nuzzling him gently. "It's okay… You've already gotten one done, you're doing good…"

Sonic only curls into him more, whimpering softly.

He had no idea why he was breaking down like this. He should be happy he was doing good, but he just felt so…depressed. All he wanted was to go home, breathe, and run across the fields with Tails…

…but he couldn't do that, and if Mephiles got in the way, he might never be able to do that again…

To never be able to breathe again…see Tails again…

He was grieving his own death.

He didn't realize how much it shocked him. He had been so numb to it all when he first got here, the shock not settled in quite yet. After getting that emerald, going to that temple, dealing with Mephiles, and then seeing how upset his friends were…it just finally hit him.

He would gladly give his life up to save the world, but he didn't realize how much it sucked to…die…

He couldn't stop crying, couldn't stop the terrible thoughts from racing his mind.

For the first time in years, he felt helpless.

* * *

"You feeling better?" Locke asks softly, still petting the now quiet hedgehog in his arms. He was sitting back up against the pillows, Sonic curled up on him, a small blanket thrown over him. A slow, shaky nod was all he got in response from the hero, and he had to suppose it was better than nothing.

"I had a feeling you would be like this when you got back," the fatherly echidna says softly. "It usually takes a bit for it to settle in, and with your energy so unstable, your emotions are just as shaky."

Sonic was more tired now than anything. His eyes felt heavy, and he could only sniffle in response.

Locke tilts his head slightly to try and see the teen's face. "I do need to ask you though," he said carefully. "You're covered in some cuts and bruises. Did you hurt yourself, or did something happen?"

He watches the hero's ears flatten, and a shiver wreak through him. He felt something cold settle over him.

"You…you weren't attacked by Mephiles, were you?"

Sonic gives another slow, shaky nod.

"Dear gods…" Locke breathes. "That's not good. That's not good at all…"

Sonic closes his eyes, not wanting to think about it. The echidna mutters a curse under his breath, before sighing. "We'll talk about it later. You need to get some more sleep, okay?"

The hedgehog nods one last time, and Locke pets him again.

It didn't take long for the hedgehog to pass out.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Another short chapter, but again, if I were to add the next chapter to this, it would be far, far too long._

 _Finding Shadow? Wouldn't that be interesting..._

 _Everyone cracks at some point, and Sonic's finally had his time. Don't worry, he'll be a lot better in the next chapter. I would say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger but…uh…_

 _Anyway, bad jokes aside, I'll see you around~_


	8. Seven

**Author's Note:**

 _I almost forgot I was writing this story. Almost._

 _After cleaning out some folders and putting chapters in their correct places, I remembered that I'm supposed to update this one next._

 _I'm in the process of writing two new stories, as I've mentioned before. Spoiler alert, they both take place after Sonic Forces. One is Sonadow, the other contains a lot of hedgehogs._

 _With that in mind, enjoy your next chapter…_

* * *

 _Seven~_

His dark lashes fluttered as they opened, his glossy, emerald green irises slowly coming into focus. His eyes felt sore and heavy, his throat felt choked and swollen, and his head pounded in both his ears. He goes to take in a deep breath, then remembers somberly that he can't. He instead settles for closing his eyes again, lifting his hands to his face to rub his forehead in irritation.

Then he seemed to realize something odd.

Like how he wasn't in the bed he had been in when he blacked out.

His eyes snapped back open, and he attempts to sit up, feeling pain wash over him as he did. His arms thrashed once they began to feel the liquid on them, and with a look of pure shock, he stares before him.

Water.

He was surrounded by water.

It was a plain that stretched all the way to the horizon all around him, sitting him in about an inch or two of it.

In front of him, sat someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"…C…Chaos?" he stutters.

The god itself sat only a few feet from him, its legs crossed and its hands resting on its knees. Sonic sat all the way up, pulling his legs towards him, crossing them like the god before him did.

From an outsider's point of view, it was quite the picture. Sonic realized then that Chaos and he both shared a lot of characteristics. Where Sonic's pelt was a deep, cobalt blue, Chaos shone in a bright, sky blue. Sonic's eyes were dark, emerald green, while Chaos's were bright peridot. They literally looked like opposites; Sonic was dark, Chaos was light. Both blue and green, almost complete mirrors of each other…

The water to his left rippled, as if a water droplet had landed in it. As this happened, it made a soft chime, and then there was one on his right, then a few more all around.

He knew what this was. Somehow, he understood. This was Chaos talking, and he knew this language.

 _ **You are awake.**_

"Where am I?" he can't help but ask after the deity greets him.

Another series of chimes echoed in the vast space, and his blue ears twitch in recognition.

 _ **A safe place. One that I can speak, and you must listen.**_

A frown pulls on his fawn lips at this answer. "What's going on?"

More chimes of water followed.

 _ **Why do things happen the way they do?**_

The hedgehog blinks in surprise. Chaos was answering his question with a question. "Um… I don't know, but I know there's a reason for everything that does happen."

 _ **Correct. You did not die because of what happened to you.**_

Sonic could feel something heavy rise in his throat. "I don't understand. I was severely wounded. What else could have caused me to…" he trails off.

In a way, the water chimes were soothing to him.

 _ **You have been through harder trials before, have you not?**_

The hedgehog meets the god's eyes. "Yes…"

 _ **And you have survived.**_

Blue ears started to pin back. "Where are you going with this?"

 _ **Why did you survive before? How did you survive before?"**_

Sonic felt his patience falter. "I… I don't know… I know my body heals itself with my energy."

 _ **So why didn't it this last time?**_

Sonic froze. The god had a point, one he hadn't thought of. Why didn't his energy heal him like it should have. Hell, he even transformed into his dark state. That alone should have healed him…

"I…" he starts slowly. "I don't know."

 _ **Because I stopped it from healing you.**_

His eyes widen, and he stares in shock at the god. "You…you what?"

 _ **I did not allow your energy, our energy, to heal you. To save you.**_

Sonic could only stare. "You're saying…"

 _ **You died, because I wanted you to.**_

* * *

The purple chameleon adore a frown as he opened the little brown door, raising a brow at the guest behind it.

"Rouge the Bat. What brings you here?"

The ivory, sultry female gives him a luscious smile. "Hello, darling. I always forget you have quite the looks about you."

Espio sighs. "You didn't answer my question."

Rouge mock pouts, rubbing a hand over her head. "Not gonna invite a girl in? Not very polite, if you ask me."

"Whose there, Espio?" a grumbling voice questioned, and soon Vector stood, blinking in surprise behind his coworker. "Rouge? What do you want with us?"

The bat smiles charmingly. "I hear you owe a certain echidna a favor or two."

Vector pushes Espio aside, to let the female inside. "Ah…" he starts out nervously, watching her walk in and look around. "D-Did Knuckles need something?"

She smiles sweetly at him, jumping up to sit on his desk, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knee. "Yes, actually, and I have good news, and bad news."

"Well…" the croc starts. "What's going on?"

Her smirk fades, and a serious frown takes over. "Vector, we've found a way to bring Sonic back to life."

Both members of the Chaotix practically choke on her words.

"What?!" Espio exclaims. "How is that possible?"

She holds up a hand, to shush them. "Listen to me carefully: Sonic is a Chaos User. When a Chaos User dies, they don't exactly 'die.' They go into a coma-like state where their body is dead, but their Chaos Energy lives in a separate dimension. When they build up enough energy, they can travel back to our dimension and communicate with us."

They couldn't believe it. Vector shakes his head, unable to wrap his brain around it. "So, like a ghost?"

She shrugs. "Kind of. Well, here's the thing. Sonic actually did this already. He left Tails a message telling him to take the red Chaos Emerald to a temple somewhere up in Holoska. We did, and after we put the emerald in the temple, on a pedestal, we were able to talk to Sonic. We seen him. He told us everything and what we have to do to bring him back to life."

"That sounds so absurd…" Espio breathes, while Vector pulls out a chair to sit.

"I know," Rouge answers softly, "but it's the truth. We have a chance to bring Sonic back, and that's were the bad news comes in."

They both look up at her, as she closes her eyes.

"He's in danger. Apparently there's a demon in that dimension hunting him down. It wants to use Sonic's energy to escape. If it does, all of us will be in danger. Sonic wants us to be ready to take it down if and when it escapes. He also needs our help collecting the Chaos Emeralds and taking them to the temples they belong in, so we can bring him back."

"And you need our help?" Vector assumes. The girl nods.

"Yes. I need you boys to do us a large favor. G.U.N. had you three investigating the whereabouts of Shadow, correct?"

The two both share surprised looks. "How did you find this out?" Espio demands. "This was supposed to be secret."

The bat smirks softly. "Really? I work for G.U.N. just as you guys 'secretly' do. How I found out, shouldn't be surprising to anyone."

The chameleon seemed a bit defeated. Vector takes this moment to speak up. "We know where Shadow is, but we haven't told G.U.N. because we felt he deserves to be left alone."

"Well we need him now," Rouge hops off the desk, standing up. "Sonic wants Shadow around, in case this demon gets out. He says that we alone might not be enough to stand up to him, and with Shadow on our side, we have a chance."

Vector nods, rubbing his eyes. "This all sounds insane but…" he stands up, determination in his tone. "It's for Sonic. Anything we can do to help, we will."

He walks passed Rouge to his desk, holding up a few papers. "Shadow is on the ARK. He went up there to destroy the Black Comet, and he was still there when we left."

"I should have known," Rouge murmurs, shaking her head. "We need to get up there…"

"Can't Tails build a shuttle to reach there?" Espio asks. The white bat turns and shakes her head.

"That poor boy has enough on his hands. If we're going to get up there, we're going to have to get a shuttle ourselves."

Vector puts the papers down, frowning thoughtfully. "And where are we going to get a shuttle? You can't exactly pick one up from the store or anything…"

All three of them were quiet for a moment, before Rouge had the idea.

"We steal one. From G.U.N."

* * *

Tails kept the laptop on all the time, on the writer, ready for Sonic to use if he needed. He caught himself constantly checking it, seeing if anything was written there for him, then getting disappointed when nothing showed up. He knew he had to be patient, but he just wanted a sign from his brother. Anything to let him know Sonic was still there.

He sat on the counter by the laptop itself, holding another one on his lap. He was trying to research the temples they needed to take the emeralds into, but was coming up dry.

"Tails? You okay?" Knuckles's voice was heard, and he looks up, smiling, to see the ruby guardian himself step into the lab.

"Yeah, I'm good, but I might have to make a trip to Shamar to visit Professor Pickle about these temples," he explains.

Knuckles raises a brow, stepping over to the table in the center of the room, leaning against it while crossing his arms. "Do you think he knows about them?"

Tails shrugs. "He might. He has a passion for studying Mobian history, as well as the temples and information left behind. He knew about the Gaia Temples and the Gaia's."

The echidna nods. "Alright." He looks over at the laptop screen, seeing the empty writer. "You should leave this here, so when Sonic comes for a visit, he knows where to find it."

The kitsune nods. "I've already decided that. I have it hooked up to my Miles Electric, so if he does show and up and writes something, I'll be notified about it and see it."

"Good," Knuckles agrees. "You should probably get some rest before you go."

Tails looks away, his sky blue eyes watching the leaves on the trees outside through the large window to his left. "I know, I will. Sonic would be mad at me."

The guardian chuckles quietly. "You know it. I'm going to put the Master Emerald in a safe spot, then I'll go with you. Sleep tonight, and we'll head out tomorrow."

The kit smiles gratefully. "Thank you, Knuckles."

"I want him back as much as you do," he answers, turning and heading for the door, "and we'll get him back."

Tails watches the guardian leave, taking his words to heart.

* * *

"You sure this is a good idea?" Espio questions, feeling a slight anxiety from this plan. "They're going to come after us once they find out about this."

Rouge smirks, while Vector slaps the chameleon on the back. "Don't be such a pansy, Espio!" he exclaims, making the reptile sneer a bit. "We'll just have Knuckles deal with them later!"

"You boys ready?" Rouge asks, pulling the seat belts over her shoulders.

Realizing they were about to take off, the two Chaotix jump in their seats, buckling up as well.

"Wait," Espio starts. "Are we just going to leave Charmy down there?"

"He's our distraction!" Vector reminds him. "Plus, he'll be fine. He's only six, they can't arrest him or anything."

"It's G.U.N., though…"

Rouge presses the final button, grabbing the gears with a smirk. "We're off in ten…nine…eight…"

Espio shook his head. "This is ridiculous. If something happens to him…"

"Seven…six…five…"

Vector rolled his eyes. "I think you just don't want to go back into space."

"Four…three…two…"

The chameleon glared back at him. "I am perfectly fine with-!"

"One!"

As they started to lift off, Espio turned green, suddenly not feeling so well.

* * *

"You…"

He didn't understand. He couldn't understand.

"Why?"

Chaos only stared back at him, unmoving, unpredictable.

 _ **Think of this as a trial. One I need you to pass.**_

Sonic's ears were all the way back against his head. "A trial for what?" He felt confused and hurt, in a way betrayed. "I help you and this is how you repay me?!"

 _ **Everything happens for a reason. Everything you've ever been through, is a trial. A test. This is your newest one.**_

Control was something he had always been against. Nothing could control him. He refused to allow it. "What… Why are you doing this to me? Why me?"

 _ **You chose this life.**_

"What are you talking about?!" he sits up, tempted to launch himself at the god. "Stop talking in riddles! I don't understand any of this! I don't want any of this! I just want to go home!"

 _ **I do not need you to understand any of this. I need you to listen to me. To trust me.**_

He felt so lost. So confused. "Just…answer my question. Why?"

 _ **I will explain everything to you in time.**_

Sonic shakes his head. "I want to know now."

 _ **You pass this trial, and I will tell you.**_

The god was starting to fade away, and Sonic bolted to his feet, panic taking over him. "Wait! What trial?!"

 _ **You have till the day of your birth to pass.**_

Chaos was completely gone now, leaving the hedgehog standing alone and confused.

"My…birthday?"

* * *

He sat up with a gasp of no breath, his pupils shrunken. "Locke!" he screams.

He rolls over, holding his chest. It hurt so bad… "Locke!"

Hitting the floor, he curls up in a ball, shaking, shivering.

The bedroom door flies open, the echidna himself running through. "Sonic!" he kneels down beside him. "Gods, what happened? Are you okay?"

Sonic tries to stand, his legs shaking too much for him to do so, however. "I…I had a dream…"

The guardian gets the hero to sit on the bed, sitting beside him, holding him steady. "What of, Sonic?"

"Ch-Chaos…" the hero chokes out. "Chaos…it said something about a trial…that it was the reason I died…"

Locke blinks in shock. "Chaos itself?"

Sonic nods, shakily. "Y-Yes, but I don't understand. It said I had until my birthday to pass some kind of trial or test or something... That the reason I died was because it wants me to do this…"

"Your birthday…" Locke repeats. "That's… Oh no…"

Sonic looks up at him. "W-When?"

"Two weeks. You have to get your life back in two weeks…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Yay, I can start writing the good stuff now._

 _So…dun dun dunnn? He went from having no time limit, to only two weeks to get his life back. Aren't I just mean?_

 _Oh, just to mess with you guys, three more characters will be joining us next chapter. You guys already know who the first one's gonna be._

 _Oh, yeah, before I forget, I got a question for ya guys:_

 _Do you know de wey?_


	9. Eight

**Notes:**

 _Okay, yeah it's been awhile for this one. We're making progress, slowly but surely. Hopefully I can get these done soon. This is a shorter chapter, but we got a lot of action in the next one._

 _Anonymoux_

* * *

 _Eight~_

"Shadow."

The black and red hedgehog keeps walking as if he hadn't heard her. The bat chases after him, motioning for the two members of the Chaotix to wait behind.

"Hey," she huffs, grabbing his arm. He stops abruptly and glares at her as she chides him. "We wouldn't have come up here if we didn't have a good reason to, hon. We need your help."

"And why should I bother?" he sounds just as dark and annoyed as usual. She smiles. Some things never changed…

"Sonic," she starts, watching his eyes narrow and him look away quickly.

He must know.

She wondered how. He's been on the ARK since the Black Arms invasion.

"I already know," he confirms before she can ask. Frowning, she tilts her head.

"How?"

He moves his arm so she lets go of him, taking a step back. "The doctor thought it would be kind to tell me."

Rouge purses her lips. "That doesn't surprise me, then. Well, that's not where I was getting. Sonic's not dead."

He looks up at her with surprise written all over his face. It's the brightest she's ever seen him. "What?"

She smirks at his shock. "Well, he is but he isn't… There's a lot to explain, but we need your help to get him back."

* * *

Sonic frowns as he steps into the crowded room, letting the wooden doors close on their own behind him.

The place was a dining restaurant, old styled with a mid-west theme to it. People were playing music, singing, dancing, drinking and eating, enjoying themselves despite their current lives.

Or…lack of life.

Locke nudges him forward, quietly talking in his ear. "Keep your hood up. I'll do what I can to hide your energy signature."

Sonic nods and pulls the hood down more, seeing other people seeming to have noticed him already.

They make their way through the floor, eyes peeled for any sign of a Spirit Emerald.

"You sure this is the place?" Sonic asks with a disgruntled face. "I don't feel the emerald."

Locke smiles gently at him. "That's because there's a lot of Chaos Energy already around you. The older a spirit, the stronger their energy is to others. You can't feel it here because most of these people have been in this realm for hundreds of years."

The hero turns and looks at him with wide eyes. "Why so long?"

The elder echidna shrugs. "That's up to them."

Sonic gives him a bothered look, before turning to search again.

He felt it.

"I think it's in that room back there," he elbows the echidna gently, nodding towards the bar area.

Locke frowns. "That isn't going to be easy to get to."

Sonic turns and gives him a questionable frown. "Why's that? We can't ask for it?"

Shaking his head, Locke pulls the hedgehog over to one side, careful to not draw any attention to themselves. "You have to remember some of these people could be working for Mephiles, Sonic. You can't trust anybody. If you ask and they are working for him, they could tell him immediantly and he'll know you're here."

Sonic looks away, ears folding back. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What do we do, then?"

"One of us is probably going to have to sneak back there and get it, while one of us keeps the bar man's attention. I rather you go back there. You shouldn't be talking with anyone," Locke answers, giving the hedgehog a stern look when he looked as if he wanted to argue. "Don't fight with me, boy. It's for your own safety."

The hero lets out a sigh, crossing his arms. "I guess. So just go in, grab it and we go?"

"If it's that easy, then yes, that's the plan," the elder frowns.

Sonic huffs. "Probably not going to go as planned."

Locke raises a bushy brow. "That's quite pessimistic of you."

Sonic glares slightly at him. "You don't even know me. Besides, I never usually make plans, because they never work."

The echidna glares back. "And you wonder why you're here."

The hedgehog flinched at the statement, turning away with his ears flattened against his head. He wasn't stupid…he knew he was right…

"Seems your plan didn't work out well, if you're here, too," he responds, wishing he didn't sound so choked.

Locke frowns. Sonic had shut down immediantly. Okay, maybe he was a little harsh, and maybe the speedster had a point. "Touché," he offers in redemption. "So lets say we have an idea of what we want to do, and a rough idea of how we're going to do it. Fair enough?"

He's quiet for a moment, before letting out breathless sigh and closing his eyes. "Fine, I guess. Let's just get this over with. I don't like crowded places."

"So we're on the same page, good," Locke says as he steps around the hedgehog. "Go over there," he points to an area beside the bar that was empty of people. "When it seems safe, go."

Sonic nods, and the two split up. He watches as Locke goes up to the bar, getting the bartender's attention. He jumps the counter in a flash and through the back, looking quickly around for the emerald.

The emerald itself sat in a small, velvet display box, the color a light, almost white-yellow. He carefully picks it up, pulling it to his chest and absorbing it into his energy.

Good, now it was time to leave.

He peers around the corner where the bartender was still talking with Locke, and dashes back out. Safe.

He goes to an isolated corner near the door and waits for the echidna, who looked back and noticed him. He waves away the bartender and turns to meet up with him, pushing through the mob of people around him.

Sonic hums quietly to himself as he looks around, noticing yet again a few people staring at him. Avoiding eye contact, he lowers his hood again and crosses his arms. There was a white wolf in particular that kept staring at him, almost creeping him out.

"Are you okay?" Locke asks quietly as he steps up to the hero, noticing the slightly unnerved face he was making.

"That guy over there keeps looking over," Sonic shrugs, turning around to head outside. Locke frowns and sees the white wolf in the corner of his eyes, before following the hedgehog out.

"We'll just keep an eye out," the echidna says as he walks beside the other, down the sidewalk in the busy city. "What color is the emerald?"

"Light yellow," Sonic hums. "That's the canyon area on the map, right?"

The old guardian nods. "Yes. To the southeast." Looking over at the hedgehog, he studies him for a moment. "Are you capable enough to contact your friends?"

Sonic purses his lips. "I think so. Hopefully someone's at the workshop when I get there."

"We'd better hurry, anyway," Locke says, pulling slightly on the other's arm. "We have to save any minute we can, now."

Sonic nods, grabbing his arm as well, and running them off in a flash of blue.

A white wolf crosses his arms as he leans against a nearby wall.

"He has the emerald."

* * *

Tails, Knuckles, and Amy look up in surprise.

Rouge had a victorious smirk on her face as she led Espio, Vector, and Shadow into the kitchen, stepping aside for the third of the group to step forward, holding up a golden Chaos Emerald.

"You have an emerald!" Tails practically cheered. He then blinks, before rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, and I'm happy to see you're okay, Shadow."

Rouge giggles as the black and red hedgehog hands the kit the emerald with a raised brow. "I thought you had six Chaos Emeralds before? What happened," he questions.

The group exchanges sad looks.

"We weren't able to stabilize them all in time, and because Sonic…" Knuckles pauses, taking in a deep breath, "because Sonic wasn't there the emeralds forced themselves away from each other and scattered. Well, besides the seventh. We still don't know where that one is."

Shadow blinks. "The emeralds did what?"

"The Chaos Emeralds can't be near each other on their own without someone there to stabilize them," Tails explained. "Sonic was going to keep all of them to keep them together. The energy is too, well…chaotic, so they split naturally when they all get together like that. They could be anywhere on Mobius."

He hadn't known that. Frowning, Shadow crosses his arms. "And you say you don't know where the seventh emerald is?"

"No one does, hon," Rouge answered. "No one except Sonic. He's the one that hid it from Eggman."

"It's the reason he died," Knuckles says quietly, looking down.

Shadow can practically see the heavy blanket of emotions fall down on everyone there. "Why go to such lengths to hide the emerald?"

"Eggman's got a secret project he's been working on," Rouge answers, leaning up against one of the counters. "Something only Blue knew about and said it was best to not get involved in. I tried figuring out what it was and even I drew up a blank."

Brows furrowing, the Ultimate Lifeform considers this. Why would Sonic do that? Was it really worth dying over?

"But he's not really gone!" Amy suddenly cheers. "We can get him back!"

"Yeah!" Tails adds with a smile, the atmosphere changing like a switch. "We just have to find the emeralds and temples! We were about to head to Shamar to talk with a friend who might know something about the temples, too."

"You're the best one here at finding emeralds, too," Rouge adds with a wink towards the hedgehog, who crosses his arms.

"I'll help," he replies. He owed it to Sonic, at least.

"Awesome!" Tails chirps, turning to grab his bag off of the table. "There's a laptop open in my lab, that Sonic can use when he visits with his energy. We just have to keep checking it. It's hooked up to my communicator so I should see it anyway, but…"

Shadow nods. Rouge had explained everything to him fairly well.

"We need to get going, though," Knuckles nudges the kid with an elbow.

Tails nods. "I'll get the Tornado running."

As he runs out, Amy and Knuckles follow, the latter giving Shadow a small nod in respect for his help.

"We'll look for emeralds," Espio offers, to which Vector nods.

Rouge waves them off, walking over to Shadow with a smile. "This means a lot to everyone that you're helping save Big Blue."

Shadow looks away. "It's nothing."

The bat raises a brow. "You're upset about what happened to him as much as we are." When he gives her a bitter look, her smile broadens. "Please, don't even. You and Sonic got along nicely. He's the one that asked us to get your help."

Shadow looks away again. Rouge just rolls her eyes. "I'm going to go help look for emeralds. It's nice having an excuse to do it, now."

The hedgehog just shakes his head as she walks out, standing there with a frown on his face.

Then he feels a weird energy signature.

He looks up, one of his black ears flicking up.

A blue light suddenly fills the kitchen.

And Sonic hits the floor.

Shadow stares, dumbfounded, as the hedgehog groans and pushes himself up to his feet. He was translucent, barely visible, but nonetheless, there.

" _Oh, that hurts. Maybe I shouldn't have come back so soon…"_ he says, rubbing his head. He looks up, then freezes when he sees Shadow, standing there, staring at him. _"Shadow…? Chaos, can you_ see _me?"_

"Perfectly clear," Shadow answers with a frown. "I felt your energy right before you got here."

Sonic stares, before a wide smile curves his face. _"You came to help!"_

The dark hog feels a weird, choking feeling in his chest. "Of course I did. You saved my life, it's only fair I save yours."

Sonic's smile softens. _"Thank you, Shadow."_ Suddenly, a thought hits him and his eyes widen. _"Crap! Where's Tails?"_

Shadow turns and nods towards the lab, where the fox himself was running out. He runs into the kitchen and hands Shadow the emerald. It seemed he couldn't see Sonic…

"Just in case you have to take this somewhere," Tails says. "You're probably the best person to go."

Shadow frowns. "Alright."

Tails turns and runs out, causing Sonic to frown. _"He can't see me…"_

"It's probably because he's not a Chaos Being," Shadow answers. "I can see you because you're made out of Chaos Energy." He looks over and sees a sad look on Sonic's face. His eyes looked dull and his ears were flat at their sides. He's never seen him look so…down. "You came here for a reason?" he asks, catching the hero's attention.

" _Oh…yeah,"_ Sonic murmurs, holding his head again. _"I guess I can just tell you, since you have the right emerald anyway."_

His voice was quiet and seemed to hold no emotion now. Like he was really upset.

"Where do I need to go?" Shadow asks, absorbing the emerald.

Sonic closes his eyes. _"The coordinates…are S2 C5…9821, somewhere in the canyons…"_ he answers slowly, trying to remember. _"The pillar will light up when it's time to put the emerald down. We have to do it at the same exact time."_

Shadow nods. "I'll get there."

Sonic opens his eyes and gives him a smile, one that's empty and seems fake. _"I know you will. I should be able to…"_ he looks away. _"As long as I don't run into trouble."_

Now was a good time to ask. "Rouge said you had someone there giving you problems, one that looks like me?"

The translucent hedgehog nods, tapping the toe of his shoe on the tiled floor. _"Yeah. His name is Mephiles, and he's a total psychotic jerk. He'll be the reason I don't make it. He's also why I need your help once I get back."_

The ebony hedgehog nods again. "We'll take care of it."

Sonic smiles again. _"Thank you, again, Shadow. I mean it. Oh…"_ he stops himself and shakes his head. _"I got bad news. Turns out, instead of not having a time limit, I only have two weeks to get my life back."_

Shadow's eyes widen. "You what?"

The hero nods grimly. _"I got a message from Chaos, saying that I absolutely have to. Not sure what happens if I don't, but it can't be good."_

"Then we'll do it," the striped hog says, determined.

Sonic gives him one more smile. _"I know we can."_

He doesn't sound like the happy, optimistic, energetic Sonic he was before. Now he sounded…as if he didn't believe in anything. That he wouldn't get his life back…

It was so unlike him…

A beep on his watch makes him jump, and he frowns at it. _"I'm getting too low on energy. I'll see you at the temple."_

Shadow frowns. "I'll see you, then."

Sonic just waves, before disappearing in a blue flash.

The biohog stands there for only a brief moment, before leaving for the temple.


	10. Sorry

**Welp.**

Sorry to those of you who thought this was an actual update.

I'm not done, but I'm about close to it.

I'm going to go on hiatus. The only reason I'm not deleting my accounts is because my Assistant, who goes by Shadow, is taking over a lot of my stuff. She's awesome, I promise.

I'm deleting my DeviantART and Inkbunny soon. I'm also going to stop writing fanfiction for a long while. Some of my stories are going to be deleted, because I have other plans for them in different stories.

Reason I'm doing this is because I'm sick and tired of having more haters than actual followers. I don't understand what people mean by "my writing style sucks," or that the only thing that's worth my stories are the plots, but they're all full of shit.

Wanna know why?

Because there's authors out there with writing styles EXACTLY the same as mine. Not even exaggerating. I've tried so many different styles and nobody has noticed a damn thing, so you guys can personally fuck off.

I've been bullied, harassed, picked on, and threatened too many times now. All I wanted was to make people happy and give entertainment to people that want it. I love people, and this isn't me giving up, but until my team and I have finished our projects, you guys aren't getting anything.

So, if the only thing about my stories worth reading is the plot, then, I guess I just won't continue anything. I actually had big plans, too.

To those who I'm hurting, I apologize. I'm not done with this, I'm just disappearing for a while. To those of you who are reading this on Inkbunny or Deviantart, your commissions will be completed, don't worry.

My Assistant has been working on some awesome big projects that you guys would love, and she's been working hard at 'em. Not just fanfiction or art, I mean something BIG. She's amazing, and she's going to be managing my stuff while I get my shit together.

My Deviantart and Inkbunny are going to be deleted once the commissions are finished. Fanfiction is going to stay up, simply because I can't afford to lose all my hours of work. I'm not wasting time on sites that are just going to cause me more harm than good.

I've always been a sensitive person. I just want to make people happy. That's it. I don't understand how anyone can go out of their way to hurt someone. I need to be more like my Assistant, who's always so stoic and doesn't care about what people think.

She's probably going to create her own accounts under the Anonymoux team's name, so if you want you can be on the lookout for that. Once enough time has passed and I've gotten things set up, I'll come back to help out.

It really hurts when something you work so hard on is shit on, when someone else with a different name could come up with the same exact thing and get all kinds of praise. It really hurts, you know? There's fanart of my stories that have more love than my actual stories. That's kind of fucked up, isn't it?

You guys probably don't even care. No one does. I'm not some big, important person or someone that's worth the attention. My writers block is because everytime I think I'm doing great some asshole has to make me feel like shit.

You don't have anything nice to say, don't say it.

Just leave people alone, for fuck's sake. Don't like their shit? Don't read it! You like their shit? Share it. Give it praise. Everyone needs to be responsible.

I'm not done, especially when I've got a team of people working for the Anonymoux, working hard on projects that I want to shine. I want the Anonymoux to grow into something big, so I'm not giving up.

Just going on a run, is all.

If enough people really, really want me to finish things, then maybe I'll try, but I'm tired of being harassed.

Until things get settled, I'm leaving things to my Assistant. She's the best damn person ever, so once her accounts are up, make sure to give her some love. She'll be under Anonymoux-Shadow, so don't hesitate to look for her.

I was told the only good thing about my stories is my plot. That's it. I hope you know you succeeded. You hurt me. Wow, how much does that get you off? Do you feel invigorated? Are you pleased with yourself? I hope so. It'd be a waste of time if you didn't. Are you off to hurt someone else now? What kind of life do you have? Are you planning on becoming some kind of famous celebrity? Are you worth anything in the world? Probably not, you piece of shit. No one likes shit.

I know that I'm going to have to get use to things like hate in life if I'm going to make it, but I'm still human. I have feelings, and things hurt me, you know? Especially when not too many people actually like me or my work, and then a large group of people bully me over it.

So, yeah I'm hurt. I'm hurt really bad.

This is goodbye from Anonymoux-Sonic for awhile. Shadow and a couple other people are taking things from here.

Goodbye, guys.

 _-Anonymoux_


End file.
